Memories of Murder
by joli.kawaii.ciel
Summary: Sebastian Michaelis is a student attending an international school in Tokyo, Japan. On his first day he finds the school is haunted by the ghost of a boy who was murdered there called Ciel Phantomhive. As their relationship develops Ciel persuades him into solve the mystery of his death.
1. Chapter 1

**Memories of Murder:**

Summary: Sebastian Michaelis is a student attending an international school in Tokyo, Japan. On his first day he finds the school is haunted by the ghost of a boy who was murdered there, Ciel Phantomhive. Once Ciel knows Sebastian can see him, he forces him into solving the mystery of his death. As the investigation proceeds Sebastian starts to find secrets about the school and the Phantomhive family.

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

Japan was the furthest Sebastian had ever been from England. He was very well travelled when it came to European countries as they were closer to home. He had even attended international schools in the countries he had spent extended times in. The next international school he was going to attend was in Tokyo. Already he missed his home country. The streets of Tokyo were certainly more pristine and clean than the chewing gum splodged pavements of London and the people were certainly politer and the sun was currently shining, but he would not mind seeing grey clouds fill the sky and feel a light drizzle of rain.

He had only spent a month in London in between returning from returning from Paris and travelling to Japan. It wasn't that he disliked spending time in other countries, it was just that there was nothing like a crumpet and some decent tea. Every country he been in had something called tea that certainly wasn't up to his standard.

He pulled on a plain t shirt and a pair of dark jeans. As he was 17, he was going to attend sixth form so he didn't need to wear a uniform. He had worn a variety of school uniforms that varied from simply being a jumper in the school colour and black trousers to smart blazers and school regulation trousers. He wouldn't have minded trying out a Japanese gakuran though. Everyone always told him that black was his colour. It complimented his distinctive red eyes and dark hair.

Breakfast involved sitting at the table with his parents. His mother and father had founded a major business and were constantly working on expanding into other countries. They believed a personal touch was necessary so he had been dragged around the world accordingly.

"How is the tea?" his mother asked with amusement.

Clearly she had noticed he had avoided touching the small teacup in front of him. Sebastian put down his slice of toast and reluctantly swallowed a sip.

"It's not bad," he answered truthfully.

He could get used to it once he became accustomed to the lack of a strong taste. He had received lots of warnings about Japanese customs and politeness so he knew it was best to get used to finishing cups of green tea.

His father interrupted from behind the Financial Times.

"As you know, you can find an import shop if the lack of Twinings really bothers you."

Finding import shops had always been high on his list of his priorities in every country. There were often surprises there too. He had previously found products from British brands that couldn't actually be obtained in Britain.

"Are you packed for school?" his mother questioned.

"It's sixth form," he corrected her.

She rolled her eyes. "You knew what I meant anyway."

"I am packed. Where would I be if I wasn't good at preparing for first days at new school?"

He realised that he had said school instead of sixth form and waited for his mother to point it out. However she didn't although the smile on her face indicated that she had noticed.

"We are going to be staying here until you finish your A-levels so you won't have any more first days after this," she said.

"That means you should act accordingly," his father warned. "I know what you did when you knew that you were only going to be at _that_ school for a few months."

"It was not my fault that my class got the idea I was a demon and kept trying to contract me," Sebastian argued.

"The idea had to have come from somewhere."

"I told you before, that annoying Faustus boy spread the rumour not me," he protested.

His mother intervened. "Are you sure you know the way there? Do you need me to walk you there?"

He shook his head. "I'm in sixth form. It doesn't look good if I walk in with my mother. It will ruin my reputation before I even open my mouth."

* * *

He reached the school with no major mishaps. The sheer amount of traffic crossings to wait at had been an interesting experience. Even a one way street had one. He wasn't sure yet if it was legal to cross the road without them, but he had noticed that no one else had done it. The legality of crossing varied in every country. He had trouble fighting off yawns as he walked because he had jet lag from the journey from England to Japan.

The entrance to sixth form was also found without any trouble. His timetable and map had already been sent to him so he had already known roughly where to go. The inside was brightly coloured and modern which matched with the exterior of the building. Although the Victorian style streetlights outside were quite a contrast. It was not the worst looking school he had attended. In his experience it was schools built during the 1980s and 1990s that had the worst décor.

A short blond boy walked past him carrying a backpack that looked weighed down with book and turned round. His face looked young and his fringe was pulled back by red hair grips.

"I haven't seen you are here. Are you the new student?" he asked eagerly.

From the boy's accent he could tell that he was from England, but he couldn't tell exactly where from. Prior experience told him that the boy had lived in Japan for at least a couple of years as his accent had become less distinct.

"I am," he replied.

"I thought so. I'm Finny by the way. Do you need to go and see the head of sixth form?"

"I am supposed to," Sebastian confirmed.

"I'll take you to his office," Finny offered helpfully and talked a mile a minute on the way there about all his club and what subjects he did. Sebastian just nodded without really taking in what he was saying.

The talk from the head of sixth was mainly about work ethics and passing exams being equally as important as making friends. Then he proceeded to promote all the after school clubs available to students. All he picked up on was that there were lots of clubs to choose from. He emerged from the office to find Finny still waiting for him.

"What's your first lesson?" he enquired. "I'll take you there."

"History. I have a map so I don't need any help," he said.

"It's okay. I have a free period right now. I can give you a tour of the whole building if you like. Not all lessons take place in the sixth form block,"

Finny was clearly not going to take no for an answer and a tour would be beneficial, Sebastian decided. He could work it out himself using the map, but that would take longer.

"If you like. Not now though. Is lunchtime fine?"

They agreed to meet in the canteen and split off. Sebastian pulled out his map once Finny had gone and looked for his History room.

History was a relatively easy lesson to sit through. He had two months of lesson material to catch up on; however he knew it wouldn't be that hard. He was used to having to do extra work to get to the same point as the rest of the class.

Japanese was a much harder lesson. Languages were usually ones of his many strong suits, but he had never learnt a language like Japanese before. European languages were simpler to learn with a good knowledge of Latin. Latin was no use in learning Japanese. He wasn't looking forward to learning about Kanji at all.

The tour from occurred when he and Finny had finished lunch in the sixth form canteen. The tour started with the common room and the study room and the other sixth form facilities.

Then Finny took him into the main school. He could tell the distinction between the two parts of the school. The paint on the walls became brighter and the amount of posters and displays on the walls increased. The students wore all black blazers with the school logo on the right side and a striped tie.

"The younger students are at another site down the road," Finny explained as the corridors became brighter in colour and more populated. "That's why you won't see anyone that looks younger than 12."

As Finny said that Sebastian spotted an extremely vertically challenged boy with blue grey hair who looked younger than twelve, a few metres down the corridor. The boy was in earshot of him and already looked annoyed so he resisted the urge to point it out. He did not want to irk an angsty prepubescent teenage boy right now even if he was cute.

"How was your Japanese class?" It's gets easier once you get the hang of particles."

That was encouraging for Sebastian. He wasn't going to be beaten by a language yet.

"What's the hardest part about learning Japanese?" he asked.

"Writing it," the blond answered without hesitation. "I've mastered Hiragana and Katakana. Kanji is difficult. It's good that I haven't been anywhere that isn't a city- I wouldn't be able to read the signs."

Finny pointed out the science laboratory corridor.

"The science is good here. The practicals aren't bogged down by health and safety like they are in the UK. Or they weren't until Bardroy ruined it. We had no idea the screaming jelly babies practical could go so wrong."

Sebastian had a feeling he didn't want to know what had happened. He had witnessed some interesting practicals at other schools, some with a complete lack of regard for safety. His own country was the strictest though.

The school canteen was the most crowded place Sebastian had seen in the school so far. It was tidy for a school canteen though. He observed the short boy he had seen earlier sitting at a table close to the window at the far end. The other students sitting at the table weren't talking to him or even acknowledging his presence.

"Don't you think that boy over there looks too young to be here?" he said to Finny.

The blond squinted. "Where? Someone might have sneaked in to see their sibling."

Sebastian pointed. "The boy over there. The one with the blue hair."

Finny gave him a puzzled look. "There's no one over there that looks like that."

Sebastian frowned and looked back in the boy's direction. He wasn't seeing things. Then the mysterious boy looked up and they locked eyes. Sebastian took a closer look at him. The boy looked shocked that someone was actually looking at him. His school uniform was also slightly different from everyone else's, the school logo was smaller and on the opposite side of his blazer.

It all added up to meaning one thing that Sebastian did not want to consider.

Could he be a ghost?

* * *

Sebastian shook his head. He did not believe in things like that. Perhaps the stress of constantly moving countries and his current jet lag was getting to him. He had started to see short boys with sour expressions. Or rather shocked expressions as the boy now looked very surprised.

He was jerked out of his own thoughts by Finny.

"That reminds me, I am part of an afterschool club. Would you be interested in joining?"

Sebastian tore his gaze off the boy and back to Finny. When he got back home he was going to get out his small stash of English tea that he had manged to pack and treat himself. Perhaps it would cure his temporary ability to see ghosts.

"What club is it?"

After school clubs did seem to be important at this school.

"We are interested in solving mysteries. Currently we are working on the Seven Mysteries of this school."

Strangely enough Sebastian could think of a mystery that Finny couldn't see.

"I see. I will consider it. When do you meet?"

"Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays after final period in one of the English classrooms."

That was compatible with his timetable. If he saw that boy again he would have a genuine reason to join the club. Currently he was sure he was imagining it.

"We're finally getting a new member!" Finny exclaimed happily.

"I said I would _consider_ it," Sebastian emphasised.

He risked a glance in front of him again. The ghostlike boy was now observing him intently. A shiver went down Sebastian's spine. He was going mad.

Finny checked his watch and led him back to common room before the warning bell sounded. He split from him there and went to his next lesson which was Maths. Statistics were reassuringly easy and allowed the mysterious boy to slip out his mind.

On his way out the building everything came to a stop when something behind him spoke.

"You can see me, can't you?"

With a deep breath he turned his head. As he had guessed, standing behind him was the boy. He groaned inwardly and checked that there was no one around before he answered.

"Yes, I can see you."

It had passed through his mind that the boy was really there and was simply being ignored by the other students for some unknown reason. That explanation did not cover the boy's reaction or the difference in uniform.

"I thought so. I have been waiting for someone to be able to see me. No one else has until you."

It was as he feared. He was either talking to a ghost or he was imagining it.

"Prove it," Sebastian said and turned around properly.

For the first time he saw the boy close up. His skin was pale and had an almost translucent property. His eyes were an unusual shade of blue and were quite entrancing. If this was all his imagination, his imagination liked to conjure up cute boys.

The boy poked his arm and his hand went through Sebastian's arm. Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"You could still be my imagination."

The boy's brow furrowed in concentration. "What lessons did you have today? I have been here for so long; I have been to most lessons at some point."

Sebastian listed them and the boy managed to give him details about the curriculum and things he was going to be taught. That didn't quite convince Sebastian.

"If you are here tomorrow after I've recovered from the shock today, I'll believe that you are real and we'll have a proper talk."

He received a shrug in return.

"I have been waiting long enough- I can wait another day."

"What is your name?" Sebastian asked as an afterthought. The name could be a hint that it was all his imagination.

"Ciel. I don't know my surname."

Ciel. It was French for sky. It was an unusual name for someone English. He could tell the boy was English from his accent. It was strongly English which suggested he hadn't lived in Japan long enough to lose it.

"Perhaps I will see you tomorrow, Ciel," he said and walked away.

"You _will_ see me tomorrow."

* * *

Sebastian keyed in the code to unlock the door to his family's apartment and sighed. He was home now. He could forget everything that had ever happened at school.

He took his shoes off and darted into his room to retrieve his stash of tea. Tea always made situations better.

In the kitchen he found that his parents had bought a Japanese style kettle that looked very modern. It was a shame that all the buttons were in Japanese. He squinted at the writing and managed to recognise some characters.

"There's a normal kettle in the cupboard on your left," he heard his mother's voice say.

Sebastian found the kettle and then remembered that his parents were supposed to be at work.

"Why are you here?" he asked as he filled it with water.

"I had a half day because of the jet lag," she explained. "Did something happen? You only use your English tea stash when you are stressed."

Sebastian hoped a one word explanation would suffice.

"Kanji."

For a moment she looked like she was convinced. Then she seemed to think better of it.

"No, that's not it. You don't have an immediate need to learn Kanji so it can't be the reason. Did no one talk to you?"

"People talked to me. I had someone invite me to join his club."

"Is it a sports club?" she questioned doubtfully. "Your physical education grades have always been exemplar, but you've shown no extra interest in it."

Sebastian found a suitable teacup and placed a teabag in it.

"They solve mysteries apparently."

Her eyes sparked. "How exciting. Are you going to join?"

"Solving mysteries is not something I am interested in," he dismissed the subject and looked in the fridge. "Which one is the milk?"

"Third on the left," she told him. "You should join. You need a hobby to put on your CV that isn't related to cats."

An unfortunate disadvantage to moving around the world was that he couldn't keep cats. Research had told him that cats were strangely popular in Japan which meant he hadn't complained about moving.

"Mystery solving sounds like I want to be a private detective and that is not CV worthy unless you are applying for something like that."

"That is a point, but I have a feeling that your father will say something different," she smiled.

Sebastian considered the significance of her statement. At his previous schools he had been told who to make friends with by his father. There had only been one motivation behind that.

"Does a child of a client or business rival attend sixth form?"

"Exactly. Since it's Tokyo and it's a fee paying school, there is likely to be the children of influential international figures there. There's probably someone like that in the club."

* * *

The following morning Sebastian walked to sixth form with trepidation in his chest. If he saw Ciel, that meant he could see ghosts. If he didn't see him, he had just gone temporarily mad the previous day. He wasn't sure which option was preferable.

Seeing grey clouds in the sky and not having to drink green tea at breakfast hadn't cheered him up in the slightest. There was no one spectral lurking at the gate or at the entrance so he relaxed slightly.

Sebastian Michaelis did not see ghosts.

All was fine until he entered the common room. Sitting on one of the sofas with one leg crossed over the other was Ciel who smirked dangerously when he saw Sebastian.

"I hope you remember your promise."

The glint in his eye was somewhat evil. Sebastian looked around the room carefully. He was early so there weren't too many people around. There was a group of girls gossiping in the corner and a boy reading a revision guide on the other side the room. If he talked to Ciel, it would look like he was talking to himself about ghosts so he had to do it carefully. He sat down next to him.

"All right, I admit you exist. What do you want from me?"

It had better not be his soul.

"I want you to find out who murdered me."

* * *

 **A/N: For those that don't know, an international school is a school in a country that caters for students that do not come from that country. The schooling can be based around the International Baccalaureate or British examinations.**

 **There is a specific reason for this fanfic being set in Japan that will become clear in later chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 2:**

Sebastian blinked. He had not been sure what the ghost Ciel wanted from him, but to find out it was something impossible like that was a surprise.

"Shouldn't you know?" he asked.

Ciel looked annoyed. "The only thing I know is my name."

"Then how do you know you were murdered?

The boy rolled his eyes. "Don't you know anything about ghosts?"

Supernatural things like ghost weren't something Sebastian had ever had an interest in. He preferred factual non-fiction books not story books, especially after being constantly accused of being a demon at a previous school.

"Obviously not," he snapped.

Ciel sighed dramatically which reminded Sebastian of a sulky child that couldn't get their way. He would have said teenager if Ciel didn't look so young.

"Why is the only person that can see me an idiot!?" he griped.

"I am not an idiot!" Sebastian complained a little too loudly as he drew strange looks from the group of girls. He dropped to a whisper. "It's just that I have never believed in ghosts."

Ciel's gaze softened slightly. "I'll insult you after explaining things. I think this place is too busy though. The study area of the library is usually quiet at this time."

On their way to the library Sebastian encountered Finny who was with another boy with darker blond hair who reeked of smoke and looked unshaven.

"Have you made your decision about joining the club?" Finny asked hopefully.

Sebastian cast a look at Ciel who nodded at him.

"...I will join your club," he said a little reluctantly.

Finny clapped his hands excitedly. "We were looking for someone really clever to help us with the latest mystery. You're perfect for the club."

Something felt wrong about that statement and Sebastian worked out what it was.

"How do you know I'm clever?"

Finny winced guiltily. "It was passed around sixth form before you came here. Someone overheard the head of sixth form discussing information about you with the admin staff. We also know who your parents are."

Sebastian sighed and Ciel pointed at his watch, clearly not wanting to lose any time standing around gossiping.

"I will see you later," he said and followed Ciel down the corridor.

He was led straight through the almost deserted school library and to the study area at the back by the computers. Ciel perched on a beanbag whilst Sebastian opted for a comfier looking armchair.

"If this is going to be an hour long epic, warn me in advance. I have not been here long enough to start skiving lessons."

Ciel levelled him with a nasty look. "I told you, I have no memories- it's not an epic story."

Sebastian gestured for him to continue and Ciel did, but not without a displeased glare first.

"I have been stuck here as a ghost for at least six years. I do not have any memories of before that or how I died."

Sebastian waited for him to explain how he knew he had been murdered.

"I hope you understand the next part with your limited imagination. Try to live up to your new reputation."

The living teenager began to rethink acknowledging Ciel's presence. He was proving to be a brat. If he continued with that attitude, he would be considered as being one hell of a brat.

"Ghosts will haunt places they have a strong connection to. I actually cannot leave the school grounds."

At least it meant Ciel would not be able to follow him home. Sebastian cheered up slightly. The thought of having a ghost living with him in his apartment felt disconcerting.

"Ghosts will not cross over if they have unfinished business. Therefore, I think I was murdered on school premises six years ago."

The hairs on Sebastian's arms stood on end. To think that someone had been murdered here and was now haunting it was not a pleasant thought. That was if Ciel was right about his own death.

"Are you absolutely sure it's murder and not just an accidental death?" he made sure to ask.

Ciel was silent for a minute. "It feels like the right answer."

Sebastian arrived at an important question. "Will finding the truth help you pass on?"

"I believe it will."

Now came the most important question of all. He did not give out favours for free.

"What incentive is there for me to find out the truth for me?"

He leaned back in satisfaction at the look of sour annoyance on Ciel's face. The response was not one he had been hoping for.

"Are you an idiot? If you don't do it, I will haunt you for the rest of your life."

Sebastian smirked, sure that he had caught Ciel out. "You told me that you are confined to school grounds. If I don't turn up, you can't haunt me."

It was Ciel's turn to smirk.

"From what I have heard, you have strict parents that are fairly well known around here. You would be an embarrassment to them if you skipped lessons."

If this was a chess game, Ciel had just put his king in check. Would he surrender? He considered it.

Solving the mystery of Ciel's death would be a nice distraction from the other activities that he was obligated to do. He was under pressure to get good grades and socialise with potential clients and their children. He needed something else to do that was not connected to school work or schmoozing.

"All right. In return for peace, I will help you."

When he said that he witnessed the first real smile from Ciel. It was actually quite blinding.

"That is wonderful. Do you have any conditions that I should know about?"

One came to mind very easily.

"Do not try to talk to me in crowded places. People will think I am insane if I start having conversations about death with thin air."

"That is a fair condition."

As he spoke the bell rang and Sebastian hastily stood up.

"I will see you at lunchtime."

He raced over to his first lesson which was English Literature and found the room just in time for the start of the lesson. From then on it was double Maths, something that he actually enjoyed.

He came out the classroom, intending to head to the common room and was confronted by the sight of Ciel standing outside. It was going to take a while to get used to seeing someone that no one else could see.

"How did you know I was here?" he hissed as quietly as he could.

"I looked through all the sixth form classrooms until I found you."

He gestured at Sebastian to follow him and he reluctantly did so.

"Where are we going?"

"The library is busy at lunchtime. We cannot have a conversation there. The stairwell in the language department is quiet at the moment," Ciel explained.

Much to his distaste Sebastian had to stand in a stairwell decorated with posters about learning Kanji. He chose to focus his gaze on Ciel instead. Ciel was better looking than a poster about Kanji.

"You said you have been here for around six years. That means you died in 2010," he said.

The boy looked pleased at his effort to start investigating. He tried to work out his age from how he looked. Those round cheeks and wide eyes still made him assume was he was 12 or younger. The lack of height did not help either.

"...Do you have any idea how old you are?" he probed awkwardly.

Ciel had a thoughtful expression. "I think that I am 15 or 16. I remembered content from the lessons taught to the younger years which makes me think I have already covered the topics. I have a school uniform so I cannot be a sixth form student. After noticing that I only knew half of what was taught to the final years, I formed the hypothesis that I died in my final year."

That made Ciel 15 or 16 in 2010. He considered a way to use that information. Important things about the school were that it was an international school based on British schooling and that it placed an emphasis on students socialising via after school clubs.

"What club here do you feel an affinity for?" he asked. "If that makes sense."

"...The mystery club. I don't know if that means I was actually a member or that I feel like that because I want to solve my mystery."

If the school liked clubs so much it was easy to assume that a record of previous members was kept. It was worth a try even if Ciel had not actually been a member.

He returned to the common room in hunt of Finny. It was unfortunate it was not a day that the club was in session. Finny was intrigued by his question about documentation of previous members and took him to the classroom that acted as a clubroom.

"There is a club photo taken every year at the start of the academic year- it's taken then so it shows the maximum amount of members- people start to drop out throughout the year," Finny said as he rifled through the club's cupboard. "There's also photos of activities that club did. What year did you want to see?"

"2010."

Finny pulled out a thin black book with 'Mystery Club 2010' written on the front in gold lettering. Presumably the Japanese characters below it were the Japanese translation.

"The club can't have done much in that year as it is such a small book," the blond commented.

He showed Sebastian the 2009 yearbook which was much thicker.

Sebastian opened the 2010 yearbook and turned to where the club photo should be according to the contents page to find that the page had been torn out.

Ciel must have been a member of the club and someone had wanted to hide it.

He shared a look with Ciel who was peering over his shoulder. They had found out that he had indeed died in 2010. The strange cover up suggested that Ciel was right about being murdered.

"The photo is missing. Did you ever notice that?"

The surprised look on Finny's face told him that he had never noticed. Finny walked through Ciel to have a closer look. Sebastian was never going to get used to the sight of people walking through Ciel.

"I never noticed. There's not much in the book so the lack of a member photo didn't seem significant. The member list is missing too," he said. "After the photo there is usually a member list."

Something must have happened in 2010 that led to death of the Ciel. Whilst Finny was distracted he dropped the yearbook into his bag. He could examine it much closer when he was alone.

"So you are definitely interested in joining?" Finny asked tentatively.

"Of course. I will certainly turn up tomorrow," he answered with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

From the way that Finny beamed at him Sebastian began to suspect that the mystery club was not popular this year. He hoped it was not going to be used a promotional material to entice other people to join the club.

* * *

Due to the fact that he did not have a free period that day he was unable to discuss anything with Ciel until after his last lesson. It was practically impossible to find anywhere to have a discreet conversation because all the study areas were full. It wasn't like in England where everyone cleared out within ten minutes of school ending. They ended up on the edge of the woods that the school backed onto. The trees looked to be blossom trees as the ground was covered in a thin layer of pink petals.

"Could my murder be linked to the mystery the mystery club were looking into?" Ciel wondered out loud. "The act of removing the photo and member list suggests it was tied to the club."

Sebastian agreed. The destruction of the yearbook was also going to make it hard to work out what the mystery club was working on at the time. Additionally the lack of a member list was going to make it impossible to track any members down. There was one thing that the surviving photos had been able to tell him.

"You died more than halfway through the 2010- the photos without you were after April. The school uniform also changed the year after."

Ciel nodded and gave him an unexpected compliment.

"You are surprisingly good at deductions."

If Ciel had been alive he would have poked his round cheeks. A roll of his eyes would have to suffice to show he was not mollified by the minor compliment.

"I don't really know where to go next. If it was someone representing the interests of the school that ripped those pages out the yearbook, it would raise a red flag if I went to reception and started asking about a boy named Ciel who was a member of the mystery club in 2010."

Ciel stroked his chin. "I agree. We don't know enough to risk asking this early on. I have a feeling the school is a little shady if they want to cover up that I was a student here."

There was a silence between them for a few minutes which was more relaxing than awkward. Sebastian rearranged his windswept hair and shivered. It was starting to get uncomfortably cold standing around in the wind.

"You can go home now. I will think of something. At least we have more information now."

They agreed to meet in the library before first lesson the next day and Sebastian returned home a lot later than he had intended. Trying to find a quiet place had taken up a lot of time. Upon entering he was confronted by the sight of his mother in one of her designer evening dresses and his father in a smart suit and tie. He recognised the signs of them attending a dinner party. If he was fortunate he wouldn't have to go.

He was not fortunate enough.

"Where have you been? You need to get ready. We are going to a dinner party as a family," his father informed him with a dry look at his jeans. "It has a formal dress code."

Sebastian groaned and walked off to make himself presentable and to find his smarter clothes. No matter how many parties he went to he never felt comfortable. His mother gave him some good news when he got in the car.

"It's a buffet dinner, not a formal sit down dinner."

Perhaps he could get away with hiding in the corner. There was nowhere to hide at a dinner table.

"You are getting too old to continue lurking. Some students from your sixth form will be there too. You can talk to them," his father reminded him.

Sebastian sighed. He had known the older he became, the less he could shirk his familial responsibilities, but he had thought his father would allow him to reach eighteen first.

The car stopped outside a hotel on a quiet street. The outside did not look ostentatious, it was the inside that showed the hotel aimed for richer clientele. The lack of Japanese architecture inside and the prevalence of chandeliers and wallpaper suggested it accommodated international travellers best.

When they entered the ballroom Sebastian recognised the signs of a business function. The men were mostly overweight and old and their wives were grouped together in a cliques that seemed to be separated by amounts of jewellery and thickness of make up. He could feel that he and his parents were being given curious looks.

"Are we noveau riche?" he whispered to his mother. "That group of women are giving us snobby looks."

"Kind of," she smiled. "We're sort of upstarts here. Their opinion doesn't matter anyway. We aren't doing business with them – it's their spouses."

"I bet you are going to greet them anyway," he predicted.

She winked at him. "Nothing disarms bitchy women more than politeness."

He watched the group of women's expressions changed as his mother headed in their direction. There was nothing his mother loved more than baiting people.

"The people your age are by the buffet," his father pointed. "If you talk to them, I will not make you greet anyone else."

That was unexpectedly merciful of his father. Keen to use the opportunity he made his way to the buffet. The selection ranged from English teatime fare to Japanese cuisine. Sebastian picked out a crust less cucumber sandwich that was triangle shaped. Japanese interpretations of foreign foods varied, but the sandwich seemed to be standard as it did not contain cream, but was to be expected as the hotel seemed to cater towards a more international market.

He looked surreptitiously at the people around him. He did recognise a few people from sixth form. One boy was in his Japanese class that was always drawing and looked like he enjoyed the class as much as he did. It was hard to recognise him without his customary eyeliner and hoodie. Another boy he could recognise was in his History class and the other he had seen around in the common room before.

He continued looking around. Standing by the window at the other end of the hall were a couple that looked out of place. Granted they were smartly and expensively attired, but they looked tired and had no interest in socialising. They also looked a little too young compared to their counterparts and the woman was not wearing any jewellery aside from a wedding ring.

What caught his attention was how familiar they looked. He couldn't place it. He had never met them before, but they sparked a feeling of familiarity.

The man's hair colour was blue grey and he had a mole beneath his right eye. The woman had lighter hair. He knew who the male's hair colour reminded him. It was the same colour as Ciel's.

"Who are they?" he asked the closest person who was named Violet if he remembered correctly.

Violet looked in the indicated direction and his face turned unreadable.

"That is Earl and Lady Phantomhive. He is the CEO of Funtom- it's quite big in the UK."

Funtom was a major company in the UK that manufactured toys and confectionery and was known for high quality products. He had been unaware of a Japanese expansion though.

"They look out of place," he commented.

"They only seem to turn up to events like this out of politeness. They only have one line of Funtom toys in Japan and they sell well without them doing anything."

"Why are they still in Japan then?" he asked curiously.

The answer provided him with the very information he had been looking for.

"Because their son disappeared six years ago. They are still hoping he will return to them. That is why they stay."

Now Sebastian knew why the couple had seemed so familiar.

They were Ciel's parents.

He knew Ciel's full name.

Ciel Phantomhive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 3:**

Sebastian had gained another puzzle piece to help Ciel. There was a chance that he could get some more if he fished around for information.

"Was there not an investigation into his disappearance?" he asked.

Violet shrugged. "I don't know that much. I had heard that Vincent Phantomhive did make an effort to find him and suddenly gave up."

He filed that away to add to the list of suspicious circumstances surrounding Ciel. Perhaps the person behind it was more powerful than his parents and had quashed the investigation. It was always interesting to see where money and power got you.

The idea of approaching the two Phantomhives did not seem wise. How was he supposed to preface his questions? Your son is a ghost that haunts my school and only I can see him did not sound like a good conversation opener. In addition they looked like they had had enough of everything.

He would have to find information out through other methods. He turned back to Violet who was now working his way through a plate of sushi.

"Did he go to our school?"

He looked annoyed at being interrupted again. "I don't know. The Phantomhives don't socialise enough for anyone to know. Gossip is all there is."

The lack of information regarding Ciel and his schooling tied in with the destruction of the yearbook.

He moved targets to the boy in his history class. He was ducked behind a large centrepiece of flowers to hide that he was texting on his phone. Clearly he enjoyed social functions as much as Sebastian did. If he remembered correctly he was called Derrick Arden and was the laziest boy in the class.

The conversation started off casually enough until Sebastian started asking certain questions.

"How corrupt do you think the school board is?"

Derrick was unconcerned by the change in topic.

"Aren't most privately funded schools a bit corrupt? Our school is no different. Most students are connected to family businesses like we both are. I think the original school buildings that have been replaced with newer ones originally belonged to a pharmaceutical company that the headmaster owned. There's suspicious ties everywhere," he narrated in a blasé manner.

"With that attitude you don't sounds like you want to take over the family business," Sebastian commented dryly.

"Fuck no," Derrick laughed. "I'm going take great enjoyment in turning it down when my parents die."

* * *

The next day brought lots of rain and wind. Being a tall person Sebastian found himself being constantly bashed with umbrellas on the way to school. He was also drenched and felt a feeling of relief when he divested himself of his dripping raincoat in the entrance of the library.

Ciel was waiting for him in the study area as promised.

"From the look on your face you look like you found something out and your hair is a mess," he observed.

Ruefully Sebastian adjusted his fringe. He had no idea why he had wished for rain when he had first arrived- it messed up his hair.

"You're right on both counts."

He stared at Ciel. It should been obvious he was titled. He had a straight posture and looked at ease with crossing his legs. Not many boys could pull that off without feeling stupid.

"What did you find?"

"Your parents and by default, your surname."

Ciel leaned forward eagerly. "What is it?"

"Phantomhive."

Ciel's face lit up. "That does sound right. It must be it."

Sebastian cleared his throat. The brat was missing something.

"Say thank you and I will tell you about your parents."

Ciel's demeanour instantly changed. His eyes widened and he smiled adorably. "Thank you, Sebastian."

That stunned Sebastian into silence before he noticed what was strange.

"How do you know my name? I never did tell you."

"I sat at the back of one of your classes once. You were so fixated on the board you never turned around. The teacher does not seem to hold out much hope for you to learn to write in Japanese."

It had to have been a Japanese lesson Ciel had seen him in. He was top of the class in all his other subjects. If Ciel had visited one of this other classes and seen how superior he was, he might have stopped implying that he had low intellect.

"The teacher is overcompensating for the fact that I started learning it later on."

The clock on the wall caught his eye. It was a modern art clock which meant funky shapes and no numbers. It also showed that he had five minutes before his first lesson which was halfway across the school.

He hastily stood up and arranged to meet in the room where the mystery club met after school.

The first thing that Sebastian thought when he met the line up of the after school mystery club was that the club was really unpopular this year.

Sitting around the table was Finny, his smoke ridden friend Bardroy, yet another English boy called William Spears and the only female, a redhead named Mey-Rin. He also learned that Finny was the current president of the club and Mey-Rin was the secretary.

"Is this everyone?" he asked.

Finny coughed awkwardly. "Yes it is."

"We don't even have any students from the school this year," Bardroy added and that allowed Sebastian to work out that he was American from his accent.

"I maintain my theory that everyone who was interested in joining saw Bardroy and ran away," William commented dryly.

Out of the corner of his eye Sebastian spotted Ciel shaking with laughter. People with titles could be so cold sometimes.

Finny coughed again. "That's why we are going to lure people back by solving the Seven Mysteries."

Sebastian thought it best to ask now rather than look like an idiot later when it became obvious he did not know what the Seven Mysteries were or why they needed solving. He should have done more research into Japanese school culture before he moved to Japan.

"What are the 'Seven Mysteries'?"

It was William who answered his question in a concise manner.

"The Seven Mysteries are a part of most schools in Japan. They are seven separate mysteries connected to the school. What is important is that they are horror based unsolved mysteries."

The basis in horror explained why he had never heard of the concept.

Finny continued on. "They're usually generic stories. Mysteriously moving anatomy models, moving staircases and things like that."

Sebastian waited for further information. If they were as generic and fake sounding as that, why were they bothering to investigate? It was not going to help solve Ciel's mystery. He might just drop out of the club now.

"This school has a very unique Seven Mysteries which is why we want to investigate. There is chance they might have a grain of truth," Mey-Rin explained.

"What are the Seven Mysteries that are unique to the school?"

Finny held up a finger. "First is the blood filled well, second is the cherry blossom tree that sucked the blood of the dead body buried underneath, next is the self playing piano in the music room, the twelve steps that became thirteen steps, the body hanging from the statue, the bloody face at the window and finally the electrocuting light in the science lab," he narrated in a dramatic manner with wide eyes.

Sebastian stared at him.

"I see," was all he could say.

This territory was unfamiliar to him. He really needed to become acquainted with the horror genre. Ciel on the other hand looked highly enthralled. There was a chance the situation would be much better if he was the ghost and Ciel was the one investigating his murder.

"They are certainly unique here, but all you have done is find out what they are," William observed critically. "How are we supposed to investigate them with that scant amount of information?"

Finny's eyes moistened and he frowned. Bardroy patted him on the arm and stepped in.

"Why don't you suggest how we investigate then?"

"Why don't you ask the new member of the club?" William was unperturbed by the question. "Remember how useless Finnian's previous recruit was?"

The four of them turned to face Sebastian with inquisitive eyes. He noticed that Ciel was also staring at him from his perch on the table in the corner. Sebastian wracked his mind for ideas. The Seven Mysteries sounded like a game of Chinese Whispers- the information became different when it was passed from person to person.

"You need to find out when each of them first started. The current mysteries may not be the original seven."

Mey-Rin started taking notes and even William was beginning to look impressed.

"Anymore ideas?"

Sebastian recalled the yearbooks stored in the cupboard and realised something significant.

"If the Seven Mysteries are such an essential part of Japanese schools and the mystery club has been going for at least ten years, why has the club never investigated them before?"

"That is a very good point," William conceded and readjusted his glasses. "I admit to not considering that before."

Sebastian tried not to feel smug about besting William and failed. Ciel raised an eyebrow at him.

"Actually I found something when I was organising the cupboard after the last meeting," Mey-Rin announced. "The Seven Mysteries were investigated six years ago in 2010."

"There's no photos in the yearbook of that in the yearbook so how do you know?" Finny wanted to know.

"I have the minutes of the meeting," she explained and drew out an extremely crumpled and discoloured sheet of paper. "It was wedged in the panelling at the back of the cupboard and was hidden by the old club diaries."

"May I see?" Sebastian asked and was handed the sheet of paper.

He smoothed it out. The paper was titled with 'Mysteries of the school meeting- role allocation' in neat handwriting alongside the date which was March 2010. It was exactly the right timeframe for Ciel to be alive.

The roles were all initialised instead of showing full names and the ink had faded considerably so a large amount of them were unreadable. He managed to make out an important set of initials and the relevant role.

C.P- investigation of the staircase- top floor- clubroom block

Perhaps investigating the Seven Mysteries would be the key they needed to solve Ciel's murder.

* * *

Sebastian pocketed the sheet of paper once the surprise of finding out the Seven Mysteries had been investigated before had died down. He seemed to be building a collection of items related to Ciel.

He considered the use of the word 'clubhouse' on the sheet of paper. He had a map of the school and there definitely wasn't a clubhouse on there. It also brought up a question of timeframe.

"Assuming that the Seven Mysteries are true, would they be part of this school building? This building seems to be only a few years old," he pointed out.

The exterior of the building was gleamingly new and the interior was modern too. The furniture wasn't too ruined by chewing gum and graffiti either. A thing he had discovered by attending different schools was that the age of tables and chairs could be ascertained by assessing the level of chewing gum and doodles underneath.

William nodded. "You are correct. Some blocks of this building are very new. Other parts are a little older. In my first year, the science block was under construction and we had to use the older laboratories in the old building."

From that he gathered William was a final year student unlike the rest of them.

"Is the old building still here?"

"Interestingly yes. It was mainly used for clubs, only the labs were used for lessons."

Sebastian produced his map of the school grounds and double checked for an additional building. William saw his map and leaned over to point in the middle of the woods.

"It is strange, but it is there hidden in the trees. The trees were planted as they were closing the old building down."

That sounded like yet another cover up by the school. The question was why? It would be much easier to knock down the old building if its existence needed to be concealed.

"I never knew there was anything there," Finny commented in amazement.

"This is Tokyo. Land is really expensive here. It could have been sold off to someone else," Mey-Rin said.

"The school wouldn't sell it off to a business- it would be right next to school grounds," Bardroy observed.

"I have a more likely suggestion," William interjected. "Nostalgic value. That building is the original building the school started from."

Sebastian had no idea which suggestion was right. They all knew the school much better than he did. He looked over at Ciel. He should know the school well and even better than them. Instead Ciel looked strangely pale and shaken. Sebastian turned back to the others before one of them could accuse him of staring into space.

"Personally it sounds like you would find the Seven Mysteries in that building, not this one," he suggested to wrap up their disagreement.

He would have to talk to Ciel after and find out what was wrong. Also on his list was to persuade the other members to investigate the old building.

They all seemed to shrink back at his suggestion which did not feel right. Weren't people like them supposed to love trespassing? Maybe the school had a very good discipline system and he was reminiscing about Enid Blyton characters that were in the habit of trespassing to solve mysteries.

"It does not sound wise to explore, I am not breaking into there," William answered cautiously.

"Perhaps if we had the key," Finny said.

"If we did, we would have to do it at night," Mey-Rin added. "Someone would be likely to see us if we went in during the day."

"That sounds really scary," Bardroy shivered.

Sebastian was inclined to agree somewhat. He did not get scared easily, but there was something sinister about this school.

He waited until the other four packed up and left before he talked to Ciel.

"You are not constrained by locks, you can go in there."

Ciel glared at him which was not an unusual occurrence. It did not have the usual power behind it though. Sebastian took a closer look at him. He was looking pale and wide eyed.

"Are you too scared to go there?" he asked on the off chance he was right.

Ciel averted his eyes which provided him with the answer.

"There are places that I am too scared to go. The head teacher's office, the doctor or nurse's room- that one might be a fear of needles though and that creepy building in the woods."

His fear sounded perplexing, but then he did not know much about ghosts. Shouldn't people be the ones afraid of them? He had only been scared that seeing Ciel meant he had gone mad. Ciel was not scary at all. He was just an occasionally adorable brat.

"Can you at least tell me what it looks like?" he enquired. "I know we were by the woods yesterday and you appeared to be fine."

"You have to go much deeper to see it. It's small compared to the school and all the windows are boarded up."

Ciel's description added to the creepiness factor of the building. The idea of going into the woods by himself in the middle of the night was mildly unnerving.

"Would you be less scared if you went with me?"

"Maybe," Ciel looked unsure. "I would prefer it if there were more people around. It's for your safety."

Sebastian blinked. Ciel was worried about him. How touching. He would have to add that onto his mental assessment of his battiness as an improvement. The temporary good impression was destroyed when Ciel continued speaking.

"I cannot have you getting killed off. It could be years before someone else can see me again."

The older teenager sighed. It had been too good to be true.

"Well the other members will not break in so we need to get hold of a key somehow. That means we are at a dead end then."

Something clicked in his mind as he looked at Ciel. He was a ghost who could go through walls.

"There is something you can entertain yourself with today. Find where the keys are stored. Someone has to have the key to that place."

The ghost boy nodded. "You do know I will not be able to steal it. You would have to do it."

"We will have to deal with that when the time comes."

* * *

Dinner with his parents was mainly a silent affair as usual with only the sound of cutlery scraping and breathing until after dinner and drinks and desserts.

"How was your first club meeting?" his mother enquired over her cheesecake. It was a Japanese style cheesecake as opposed to a British one as it was an actual cake rather than a sweet dessert containing cream.

"Not bad," he answered truthfully. He had got a lead on Ciel's case after all.

"You seem to be happier than when you first started there."

Sebastian added milk to his coffee before answering.

"I have only been at sixth form for a few days. It is too early to tell."

It was mainly Ciel's case that was helping him to adjust. The difficulty of acclimatising to talking to a ghost was much harder than settling in at sixth form.

"Who is in this club?" his father questioned, sounding very much like was sniffing out potential clients.

If Sebastian had to guess which member of the club had business connections, he would go for William. He was uptight and nick pickety enough. He listed the names of the members for his father.

"One of the people I am in talks with has a son in the year above you called William. Considering his surname is Spears that must be him."

He was right then. On a positive note perhaps he was not as bad at detective work as he had believed.

* * *

"Did you find the key?" Sebastian asked Ciel.

They were in the quiet area of the library again and Ciel was strangely silent for a change.

"I think I did. I don't think you can steal it by yourself."

"Where is it then?"

"The caretaker has it," Ciel answered briefly. "In a locked cupboard."

That made it difficult. He could not envision sneaking in and picking the lock. It was too risky.

"Who is the caretaker?"

"Tanaka. He appears to be harmless. He has an office and storeroom tacked onto the back of the English department. If I remember correctly he came here five years ago."

"Do you have any ideas how to get it?"

Ciel's reply was very surprising considering the circumstances.

"Tell the truth."

Sebastian arched an eyebrow. It was almost certain that Ciel had died on school premises and that it had been covered up by the school.

"That is very risky," he replied.

"I have a feeling he is not bad. We can test it. I have an idea."

Considering he had no viable ideas Sebastian listened to Ciel's idea. It depended a lot on Tanaka not being tied with the school board. It was likely he was not due to the fact he was a newer member of staff, but Sebastian didn't like to rely on that. He didn't want to get killed off.

Eventually Ciel talked him into it and off he went to find Tanaka. He knocked on the door of the office and entered when there was no reply. If the caretaker was out it could circumvent the need for Ciel's plan.

The office was small and very tidy. There was stacks of maintenance requests forms stacked neatly on the table and one wall was lined with filing cabinets on either side of another door. He couldn't see anyone behind the desk. He could smell green tea though.

"Mr. Tanaka?" he called out. "Tanaka-san?"

"Yes?"

A figure stepped out from the other room and as he approached Sebastian saw an old man with mussed grey hair and blue overalls. He matched Ciel's description and answered to Tanaka so therefore he must be the caretaker.

"I have a question-" Sebastian pretended to stumble and the 2010 yearbook fell out his pocket along the minutes of the meeting.

He allowed Tanaka to pick them up and examine them. After a long minute they were handed back to him.

"Are you a member of the mystery club?" he asked and Sebastian was able to tell he had a very pronounced English accent which sounded upper class which was strange for a caretaker in Japan.

"I am a member. I am a new student though so I don't know the school very well."

"What question do you have for me?"

"It's about the old school building."

Depending on Tanaka's answer Sebastian would either proceed with the conversation or go to Plan B which was to end the conversation and leave for safety.

"I cannot tell you much. I only started working here after it had been closed down. I have been waiting to hear that it will be demolished, but it has not happened yet."

That sounded like he was a suspicious as him.

"The son of a family friend was in Year 11 here and was investigating the old school building as part of the mystery club. Then he disappeared," he explained.

Tanaka's eyes flickered with recognition.

"You are not the first person to ask about him. Someone comes once every year and gets turned away."


	4. Chapter 4

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 4:**

It didn't fit in with being one of his parents. Who could it be?

"How exactly does that person get turned away?"

Tanaka drew out a chair and gestured for him to sit down. He cleared away the stacks of forms.

"I will make some tea. This will be quite a conversation."

It was strange. The man seemed to be more like a butler than a caretaker. He also feared that the tea would be green tea from what he could smell. His guess was confirmed when Tanaka returned with two ceramic cups of green tea.

"Two years ago I was repairing the door lock on the office door in the reception area when a young lady arrived," Tanaka began and stopped when he saw Sebastian wasn't drinking. "I do not offer tea to just anyone. Drink up."

Hastily Sebastian swallowed some. This green tea was less flavourless than others he had tried.

"She asked the receptionist on duty if anyone would be able to tell her about a student named Ciel Phantomhive that attended the school four years before and was a member of the mystery club. She also mentioned coming to ask several times a year before."

So it was definitely connected to Ciel. Perhaps she was Ciel's girlfriend. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"What did she get told?"

"At first she was told she could not have any information because she was not related. When she proved that she was his cousin, the receptionist changed tack and said someone with that name had never been a student."

That fitted in with the school covering up Ciel's attendance.

"She gave the receptionist her card and left. I saw that card get thrown in the bin immediately after by the head receptionist. Then the following year I was passing through and saw her again."

"Was she told the same thing?"

"The receptionist on duty this time was the head receptionist and she was told outright that Ciel Phantomhive had never been a student. The young lady asked in return how the receptionist has known that without needing to look it up."

That sounded like it would go down well at a school determined to cover up a murder.

"Funnily enough she ended up with a ban. She cannot even step onto school premises. I have never seen her since then so I assume that ban is still in effect."

"Is that so?" Sebastian said thoughtfully. She sounded lucky to end with a ban and not something more severe.

Tanaka tilted his head on one side.

"What do you think it means?" he asked suddenly.

Sebastian tried to not sound like he knew anything about Ciel being dead.

"It sounds like he really was a student here once and the school do not want anyone to know."

The caretaker nodded in agreement. "That's what I think too. I also think it is related to the old school building and all the older staff members are in on it."

Ciel was right about talking to Tanaka. The old man had the same suspicions as him.

"Have you been in the old school building?"

"I do have the key," Tanaka said. "I did not get it by honest means though. The building needs to be surveyed for structural damage after any large earthquake as it is a very old building. I managed to pickpocket the key from the surveyor for a short time and make a copy. I had thought looking around the building would uncover something."

The key being a copy explained how Tanaka had possession of one if he was not part of the suspicions circle of staff members.

"Did you find anything in the building that seemed to be suspicious?" the teenager enquired.

"I did, but I could not seem to find anything that looked out of place and suspicious. The interior of the building appears to be untouched. It's like it was just suddenly closed down and everything was left as it was. Perhaps you could do a better job than me."

Sebastian's eyes widened as he caught onto what Tanaka was saying. The caretaker walked off into the connecting room and returned with a key. He handed it to Sebastian.

"If you find anything, please inform me."

It seemed exceedingly weird that Tanaka had told him everything and had even given him the key. He hadn't even needed to ask for the key. Ciel seemed to be good at reading people and predicting their actions despite that fact he showed no consideration for others by constantly insulting them.

"Why do you trust me?"

Tanaka's eyes twinkled as he pointed to the items he had dropped.

"Because you showed me proof that Ciel Phantomhive existed at this school."

Tanaka bowed and Sebastian returned it.

"I will also give you the contact information of that young lady. I picked it out the rubbish you see. Hopefully she will still be in Japan."

Tanaka pulled out a small card from one of his desk drawers and held it out to him. The girl's surname did not match Ciel's, but that did not have to be the case. It was worth a try to contact her.

* * *

When he arrived back at the apartment and found it empty he breathed a sigh of relief. That last thing he needed was his mother to ask why he had a girl's number. He laid the card down on his desk and read the name again.

Elizabeth Midford

The number listed was Japanese landline which made him hopeful that she was still in Japan if she had gone to the trouble to get a Japanese landline. Below it was a Japanese mobile phone number. His new Japanese mobile phone had arrived the previous day which was good as his phone bill on his English phone had been rapidly rising.

He dialled the landline number first to check it still worked and to see if she picked up. The phone was picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" a female with a very evident English accent said. She sounded upper class too which fitted with her being related to Ciel.

"Are you Elizabeth Midford?"

"I am. May I enquire who is speaking?"

He had the right person. Now he had to explain everything without referencing Ciel's lack of corporal state.

"I am a student at Weston International School and I am a member of the mystery club. I am aware that your cousin Ciel Phantomhive was a member."

There was a sharp intake of breath and he knew he had her attention.

"Why have you called me?" she sounded understandably suspicious.

"Because we want to know the same thing. I would be beneficial to share information."

When she answered her voice had lost some of its formal tone.

"You're right. Do you want to meet?"

"That would be good. The earliest I can do is Saturday."

"Of course it is- you're a student. I have an appointment in Harajuku in the morning. Would you like to meet there at midday? It will not be in the busiest area. Not that it won't be busy."

Sebastian was very sure that Harajuku was the eccentric fashion capital of Japan. It would also be very crowned. On the positive side, he did need some new hoodies. Harajuku sounded like the perfect place.

"That sounds fine with me. Just let me know the location."

She gave him a location that made no sense and warned him to stay away from Takeshita street unless he wanted to get squashed because it was a weekend. That sounded like legitimate advice to him.

The fact that she wanted to meet him in a public place strongly hinted that she did not trust him yet. He could not really blame her.

"Don't think I didn't notice you didn't give me your name," she said.

"It's Sebastian Michaelis."

"I will see you outside Omotesando Hills then. It's a shopping centre," she said and ended the call.

Sebastian stared at his phone. When he arrived in Japan he never expected to be embroiled in a probably murder case. He also had not been expecting to meet a girl willingly outside a shopping centre in Harajuku. Ciel was getting him into some strange situations.

* * *

At the mystery club meeting the following afternoon Sebastian tried his best not to look smug. He waited patiently for the topic of the old school building to come up for discussion.

"It's a shame it's the old school building that needs investigation," Finny sighed. "We might have to give up on the Seven Mysteries."

Now was the time. Sebastian cleared his throat.

"If I remember correctly, the agreement was the old school building could be investigated if we had the key."

"Well we don't," Bardroy said testily.

Sebastian held out the key. "I have it."

The reaction was immediate. William's mouth dropped open. Mey-Rin squealed. Finny's eyes expanded widely.

"How on earth did you get that?" William questioned once he had recovered from the surprise. Sebastian was disappointed with his quick recovery.

"I sweet talked the caretaker."

Tanaka had given it to him very willingly, but they didn't need to know that.

"Don't you mean the janitor?" Bardroy asked.

"He meant what he said," William answered for Sebastian.

Finny was still staring wide eyed at Sebastian.

"You didn't seduce him, did you?"

Sebastian cringed at the mental image and in the corner Ciel burst out laughing. He had no idea how old Tanaka was, but the thought of seducing him was a little vomit inducing.

"No, I was just very persuasive."

He regretted saying that once it was out his mouth. It sounded like an innuendo. Ciel's laughter became even louder. Finny didn't seem to care though.

"I knew getting you to join was a good idea," he beamed and looked happy with himself.

"Is it agreed that we can investigated the old school building now?" Sebastian asked before he could accidently add anymore innuendos and cause Ciel to choke with laughter.

"I don't see why not," William said.

"I should be able to sneak out," Mey-Rin agreed. "It's clear we are going to have to do this at night."

"I can go," Bardroy added.

"Then it's agreed. We are going to investigate the old school building at night."

They agreed to meet outside the school gates the following night at midnight. Sebastian hoped Ciel was satisfied with the amount of people going now. He was also somewhat glad too. He didn't want to get murdered too and end up haunting the school.

* * *

Sebastian had the unfortunate luck to have to walk past his mother before he left for Harajuku. She always asked him questions about what he was going and where he was going. Usually he didn't mind, but he did not appreciate the interrogation right now. He had been counting on her having a lie in at this time in the morning

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Harajuku," he answered reluctantly. She was sure to take an interest in that.

He had never seen her move so fast. She was off the sofa one moment and blocking his way the next.

"Are you finally taking an interest in dressing fashionably? Are you going to ditch those hoodies?"

Sebastian pointedly glanced down at his hoodie. "No, in fact I am going to buy more."

She shook her head. "Such a wasted opportunity. Are you taking the Yamanote line?"

According to most of the guidebooks about Japan working out how to use ticket machines was difficult and should be avoided by using a rail pass. Sebastian simply found the Yamanote line map and counted the stops and input the appropriate fare on the machine. Guidebooks must take tourists to have no common sense.

The train was not overly crowded by some standards. He felt awkward squeezed in between two middle aged ladies though, but it could be worse. Elizabeth Midford had to be testing his determination to get through obstacles.

He was thankful when Harajuku was announced at the approaching stop. He emerged out that station and immediately saw Takeshita Street which was an enticing sight although crowded. He walked past it in the direction of Omotesando.

Once he was outside the giant shopping centre he looked around for a female that could be Elizabeth Midford. There were plenty of young females around but they were in groups and some were in school uniform. There were some obvious overseas tourists too. He should have asked her what she looked like.

A blonde curly haired women dressed in a pink frilly dress carrying several bags approached him. Her straw hat covered half her face so he could not see her properly.

"Are you Sebastian Michaelis?" she asked.

He stared at her as she looked up at him. He could see her eyes now and was able to confirm there was absolutely no resemblance to Ciel. She had blonde hair and green eyes instead of blue eyes and blue hair.

"I am. Are you Elizabeth Midford?"

"Naturally. We had better hurry up before the queue gets too long," she said and led him into the busy shopping centre.

"Where?" he asked and tried not to lose her in the steady stream of people leaving. She walked fast for someone wearing heels. Her hat made her easier to keep track of.

"There is a nice patisserie on the third floor. I will buy you something," she said once he had caught up with her.

"It's all right, you don't have to," he said.

"In return you have to tell me what you know."

The offer didn't sound like a favour now she had added that. After three escalators where everyone stood on the left and a short wait outside the café they were seated at a table for two and had two glasses of water.

"How much Japanese can you speak?" she asked suddenly. "I know you have only been here for a week."

That also reminded him that she had known what he looked like. If they were on equal footing she should have had the same problem trying to find him outside as he had looking for her. Instead she had walked straight up to him.

"I will have to order for you," she said and passed him the menu. "The tea here is good."

The mention of tea temporarily kept him from noticing she did not answer the question. Fortunately the menu had English translations although by now he knew what the characters for red tea looked like.

"I will choose the Darjeeling."

"This place does good cakes too," she said and turned to the relevant pages of his menu.

"I don't like cake," Sebastian replied.

"That's unusual," she commented and looked wistful for a moment. "Ciel would not like you then."

Sebastian nearly spat out a mouthful of water when he heard that. His relationship with Ciel was tenuous enough without cake preferences coming into play. He would receive even more insults if he ever confessed to not liking cake. It had never come up in conversation so maybe Ciel had simply forgotten his own preferences.

"Ciel loved sweet things. Cake was his favourite," she said with a faint smile. "He always looked so content when he ate cake."

Her use of past tense did not go unnoticed by him. Elizabeth fell silent for a moment before remembering he was there.

"It was Darjeeling you wanted? I will order it for you."

He watched as she conversed with the waiter. Her Japanese was fluent; clearly she had practised a lot. She had spent a few years in Japan though. Her English accent when speaking her native language was unusually strong despite that.

"You wanted to know how I knew about you," she said. "It is simple; I asked the Phantomhives."

She pulled her phone out from her bag. Her phone case was one of the pinkest things he had ever witnessed. It matched well with her outfit which he assumed was the purpose. She showed him a photo of him at the party he had been to a few days ago.

"Whilst Vincent is not overly active in Funtom, he does keep up with potential business rivals or partners. You and your family here arrived here a week ago and you started school whilst your parents started sniffing out investors."

"Did you find out anything else?"

"You are barely noveau riche. Vincent would say that though- Funtom had been going for over a century."

"Are you like that too?" he asked curiously. She had enough money to match her phone case with her outfit.

"I am Lady Elizabeth Midford," she replied. "That says it all."

His tea arrived just then along her order. He had a look at hers. He was sure it was a strawberry shortcake. His mother had gone on about how she wanted to try one when they got to Japan. It was confusingly named for someone from England as it was more like a Genoise than a scone.

She waited until he had poured his tea out and added milk before going straight in.

"What do you know about Ciel?"

He knew he was short and bratty, however that was hardly going to help.

"He disappeared six years ago and Weston International School deny he ever went there. What can you tell me?"

"My cousin was 16 when he went missing. I am one year older than him so I have known him since he was born. He was adorable and if he was ever annoying, he did not do it in front of me."

Elizabeth Midford was lucky then. He occasionally saw the adorable part and mostly saw the annoying.

"How long did he attend the school for before his disappearance?"

"About a month and a half. He was doing relatively fine there- he made one friend."

Her comment confirmed a few things Sebastian had been able to guess about Ciel. If it was surprising he had made a friend, he must have been very unsociable.

She saw the look on his face. "That was good for Ciel. It always seemed to be that he did not take to idiots. He was overly clever for his age. I sometimes wonder if it was that which caused his death."

Elizabeth had a good point. There was a high chance he had found something out about the school and had been killed for it.

"Did he discuss his work with the mystery club?"

"He did," her eyes narrowed. "But first, I would like some information from you. How do you know about Ciel?"

Her question had come later than he had though. It seemed that she had been observing his reactions first before asking. It was evident that behind the blonde pink loving façade she was smart.

"I joined the mystery club this week and noticed something strange."

He drew out the yearbook and the minutes of the meeting. If it led to being given the old school building key, it would be sure to produce a reaction from Elizabeth.

"The member list and photo has been torn out," he showed her by opening it to the relevant page. "The club doesn't appear to have done any mystery solving until three quarters of the way through the academic year. At the party I found out about the missing Ciel Phantomhive. Then I noticed the C.P initials on this sheet."

She looked over them thoroughly for a few minutes and appeared to be satisfied.

"How did you get my contact details?"

"The caretaker saw your card get thrown away. He thought the reaction was suspicious and kept the card. When I asked about Ciel Phantomhive, he gave it to me."

She took a delicate sip of her tea. "I understand. I think I can tell you everything again. At the time of his disappearance, the club was investigating the mysteries of the school which is apparently quite a tradition in Japanese schools."

"I know. The club is investigating them again."

"Interesting. Ciel was not fond of the head of the club and was determined to get one up on him so he put a lot of effort into investigating the clubhouse."

Her description matched with what he had found out so far. However she was not telling him much that he did not already know.

"One day, he did not return home from school," she sighed. "I don't know much else. I was not here at the time and I assumed Vincent would take care of it- that he would investigate and find out what happened. I came here because he didn't."

Vincent Phantomhive's lack of action was highly abnormal. He had given up too quickly. Almost too quickly. Wasn't Ciel his only heir? Clearly he knew something they did not.

"Why do you say he went missing yet refer to him in the past tense?" he enquired.

"Because his parents do and I know they know something I don't."

It appeared that the Phantomhives were sure their son was dead. Whilst it was obvious they were right as Ciel was a ghost, they should not have known. If they knew he was dead, that should mean they knew who killed him. So why were they staying silent?


	5. Chapter 5

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 5:**

"There is something you have missed," she brought him out of his internal monologue where he had been serious debating what had happened to Ciel.

"What is it?"

She tapped the cover of the yearbook with a pink manicured nail. "This book was allowed to be printed at the end of the academic year with Ciel's name and photo in it."

Elizabeth picked up her phone again and showed him a photo of a group of teenagers mostly in the old Weston International School uniform. Ciel was sitting in the front row sporting what looked a forced smile.

"Ciel sent me this at the time it was taken," she explained. "The yearbook was allowed to be printed with proof of Ciel's existence, but the pages were later torn out. Do you understand the significance?"

The inconsistency never occurred to him. If the school had feared people finding out Ciel had attended there, the yearbook would have not been permitted to be printed with Ciel's name and photo.

"The school had no concern at the time about there being clear evidence of Ciel's existence only to deny it later."

"Exactly. Then something must have happened to make them worried and tear those pages out. I wonder what it was," she said and smiled suddenly. "It was me. I turned up a number of months later asking about him. I finally realised his parents were not doing anything productive so I came here."

What she said made sense, however Sebastian could not quite picture her as being a genuine threat. She seemed to guess what he was thinking.

"Just because I wear pink, it does not meant that I cannot be tough. After enquiring there and getting nowhere, I decided to snoop there instead. I was caught before I got too far. That is probably when the evidence got destroyed."

Sebastian was still failing to imagine that. But she was right. The only trigger for the destruction of the yearbook had to be her.

"The mystery club are planning to investigate the old school building tonight. How easy is it to sneak in?"

He had realised if she had tried and been caught, she would know what not to do.

"I cannot say I know anything about sneaking in at night, but during the day is hard. I think the main factor was that security were on the lookout for me. There are more security guards during the day because there are more students around and all the gates are open. At night it should be more relaxed. Along the boundary wall around the back there are less cameras. If you go for climbing over the back wall rather than over the gates, you will be fine. What I don't know is where this building that you mentioned is."

Sebastian explained the matter to her. She was sceptical of its significance at first until he explained how it linked to the Seven Mysteries.

"I hope you find something in the very least. You have done a better job than me so far," she sighed.

Technically she was at a disadvantage because she was not able Ciel's ghost and she had no access to the mystery club where he had found the major clues so he was not critical of her. Although he could think of one avenue of investigation she had missed.

"Why didn't you enrol there instead?"

She picked the strawberry off her cake and frowned.

"By the time I got here I had done my A-levels. I was debating trying to apply there citing wanting to redo exams when Vincent told me it was too dangerous."

Hearing that added more evidence to Sebastian's almost certain theory that Ciel's father knew exactly what happened.

"Did he explain why?"

She shook her head. "I ended up doing university entrance exams instead. I have not just spent four and half years here shopping. I graduated last year."

It had crossed his mind that she had spent her time buying clothes and pink things to entertain her. At least he knew that was not the case.

"Do you see the Phantomhives often?"

"I go to their house every Sunday for a roast dinner," she answered. "It feels awkward a lot of the time."

Sebastian could imagine that. His family dinners were bad enough, but he did not have a dead relation that his parents knew what happened to and were keeping quiet.

Once they had finished their tea and she had finished her cake they left the café.

"Please let me know what you have found," she said. "If you want to know the locations of any particular shops I can tell you- I know the shopping districts quite well."

Her offer reminded him that he only had one tea bag left. He considered that an approaching catastrophe.

"Do you know any places that sells English tea? Decent tea that is," he was careful to specify.

She gave him an address in Shibuya and they parted outside the shopping centre. Sebastian returned to his apartment with several new black hooded tops. The bonus was that they had cats on.

* * *

At half past eleven he crept through the apartment. The lights were off in the kitchen and living room so he had a clear route through there. He could see from the sliver of light cast on the carpet that the light was on in his parents' bedroom so he was extra quiet when sneaking past. He took the precaution of not putting his shoes on until he was out the apartment to limit noise. The real concern was getting back in quietly as the lock beeped whenever a code was input.

It was strange to see his route to sixth form almost deserted and dimly lit. The roads were also unusually quiet due to the lack of congested traffic. He spotted the other members of the mystery club standing underneath a streetlight a little down the road from the school. Their position made them extremely easy to pick out which did not make him feel very optimistic about their ability to sneak into places. On the other hand they were all wearing black clothes which showed they had put some effort into it and William had a large backpack. Sebastian was not sure that he wanted to find out what was in his backpack.

"Did everyone bring torches?" Finny asked like a teacher on a school camp.

Mey-Rin took hers out of her pocket and William patted his backpack.

"I have mine," Sebastian contributed.

"I brought a flashlight," Bardroy added.

The English members all nodded at him and changed the subject.

"Does anyone know how we should get in?" Finny asked and scratched his cheek awkwardly which suggested he had not considered it before.

"As the leader of the club, shouldn't you have planned this better?" William sighed. "I should have expected this."

"I have no experience in breaking and entering!" Finny protested.

Sebastian wondered why William was not the leader as he was the oldest member and seemed to find fault with the Finny's leadership. He asked Bardroy instead of either of them as they were both arguing.

"Will was the leader last year, he had to step down this year because university entrance exams are coming up," he explained. "He still acts like he is though. Most final year students completely leave clubs, but he stayed on. I think it's just to make sure Finny doesn't ruin anything."

Sebastian waited for a break in the conversation between the two before he interjected.

"I suggest we walk around to the back wall and go over the wall. There is less chance of being caught on CCTV there."

William silently led the way down the road and to the street behind the school and they all turned to assess the height of the wall surrounding the school. As it was brickwork instead of concrete there were available footholds. Sebastian checked was the time was as he had agreed to meet Ciel at midnight by the trees. It was now ten minutes until that time. At the rate they were progressing he was going to be late.

"Who is the best at PE? They can try it first," Finny suggested.

"It is probably me," Sebastian said just to move everyone along.

He scaled the wall easily and found it was quite a drop on the other side. Fortunately there was a flower bed that cushioned his landing. It took ten minutes for everyone to make it over.

They did not turn on their torches until the grove of trees came into sight due to the fact that the school grounds were dimly lit with orange light from Victorian style streetlights. Once they were there Sebastian looked around for Ciel. As he was wondering if Ciel was late too, the boy emerged from behind a tree which caused him to jump. Ciel had an unearthly glow at night which was disconcerting to look at. It reminded him that Ciel was really a ghost. It was easy to temporarily forget it during the day because he looked normal. Now he looked spectral.

"Sebastian, are you scared?" Mey-Rin questioned, having noticed his reaction.

"Not at all," he smiled at her, noticing in the dim light that her cheeks were red. He forgot the effect his smile had on people.

"You can stop flirting and lead the way," William said, thankfully interrupting the moment.

Sebastian exchanged glances with Ciel and the sulky teenager gestured for him to follow him. So Sebastian wove his way through the trees and managed to not trip over any roots in the dark or flinch whenever a branch that he couldn't see touched him. The same couldn't be said for the rest of the club behind him.

Ciel came to a sudden stop and Sebastian nearly went through him.

"We are here," Ciel announced and stepped aside so Sebastian could see the old school building.

Illuminated only by his torch and the moonlight from the full moon it was an eerie sight. The windows were boarded up and a lot of the roof tiles were missing which helped it resemble a haunted house. If it started to rain it would truly feel like the building belonged in something of the horror genre.

From the sharp intakes of breath behind him he could tell everyone else had arrived.

"I'm glad I'm not here alone," Bardroy commented with a shiver.

"Do you think it is even scarier on the inside?" Mey-Rin asked fearfully and grabbed Finny's arm.

"Stop whining and get on with it," William snapped. "If it is ghosts you are worried about seeing: they don't exist."

That had been Sebastian's prerogative until the previous week.

"Do you have any concerns at all about going in?" Bardroy asked.

Instead of answering William unzipped his backpack and took out a hard hat.

"I am concerned about the ceiling falling in," he explained. "It is almost certain there is earthquake damage or after effects of land subsidence."

Finny had a dumbstruck expression on his face. "I didn't think of that."

William placed the hat on his head and turned to Sebastian.

"Of course he didn't. I am also concerned about being out so late. You have the key so get on with it."

The main entrance was sealed with an industrial padlock. After a brief minute of difficulty due to poor lighting and struggling to hold his torch, Sebastian had it unlocked and removed it. He opened the door and shone his torch inside.

The sight confronting him was a collection of dust filled cobwebs swathing groups of lockers. The air smelt unpleasantly damp and musty. It all added up to suggest that no one had been here for a long time.

William arrived and looked over his shoulder.

"There is a certain atmosphere to this place," he smirked and gestured at Mey-Rin who looked terrified.

They all gathered around in a circle in the centre of the lockers. Ciel lurked behind Sebastian.

"If we are going by the Seven Mysteries we need to check all the staircases, the windows on the top floor, the music room and the science labs. The other two are outside so we can do those later," Finny said, sounding more sure of himself now there were inside and the ceiling hadn't fallen down on them. "Should we split into groups or go around in one big group?"

If Sebastian remembered correctly the mysteries related to the interior of the building were the twelve steps that became thirteen, the bloody face at the window on the top floor, the electrocuting bulb in the science lab and the piano in the music room.

"Splitting means wasting less time," William answered instantly. "I suggest one sensible person a group."

The groups ending up being Sebastian with Finny and Bardroy and Mey-Rin with William. The second group were assigned the first two floors whilst Sebastian and Finny got the top floor. Ciel followed a few paces behind them.

"We need to count these stairs first," Finny said when they reached the foot of the first staircase.

There were nineteen exceedingly creaky and shaky steps. Sebastian was careful to be on the watch for any missing steps.

"Nineteen steps is different to twelve steps," Sebastian noted as they walked up to the next flight which also had nineteen.

Maybe there was not anything in the Seven Mysteries after all.

The steps leading to the third floor looked enticingly shorter and Sebastian allowed himself to a feel a little hope that it was not all a waste of time.

There were twelve steps.

"So this one could be true!" Finny exclaimed happily. "The thirteenth step is supposed to be a dead body."

That sounded horribly morbid. He looked over at Ciel who was squinting at the ceiling.

"Shine your torch on the ceiling," he ordered.

Sebastian did so and noticed that it was certainly a very low ceiling which explained the lower number of stairs. It was an inconsistent building.

"We need to check all the windows next so that means going in all the rooms. I hope they aren't locked," the blond said worriedly.

"What classroom are up here?" Sebastian asked before using his torch to check the nameplate on the nearest door. "Cinema club?"

"All the clubrooms were on this floor," Finny explained. "The mystery club room will be here too."

Sebastian opened the door of the cinema club and took a look inside. The chairs were stacked neatly in the corner and were covered in spider webs. There was a DVD case left on the desk at the front of the room. It gave the impression that the room was vacated in a hurry.

"It matches what the caretaker told me," he said out loud. "Everything was left as it was."

"It does look like it," Finny agreed. "I didn't know Tanaka was that talkative though. Did you manage to understand his strong accent?"

Strong accent? Tanaka had a strong English accent that made him very easy to understand. Finny was English took so he should be in the same boat.

"Do you mean the strong English accent?"

"No, he has a really strong Japanese accent. Not that I've heard him speak a lot. He usually just walks past with his head down."

Finny's description was the complete opposite of that Tanaka he had encountered. That added one more strange thing to the list of strange things about the school. Did that mean Tanaka could not be trusted? He had given him the key and led him to Elizabeth after all so he had not been a hindrance, he was more of a help.

"We're supposed to meet Will and the others in twenty minutes so we need to move on," Finny told him and waved his phone at him to show the time.

Sebastian put the Tanaka problem to the back of his mind and followed Finny out. The chess club was next and only revealed by dusty chess pieces that had rolled into the skirting boards. The literature club and Maths club rooms provided nothing as well. The mystery club room was next.

Sebastian turned the handle and took a tentative glance inside. If there were going to be any clues, the mystery club was the most likely place.

The layout of the tables was quite different to the current one. They were arranged in a horseshoe around the whiteboard at the front. There were a few posters on the wall of famous detectives which spanned several countries. Sherlock Holmes was the only one he could recognise without reading the name. Others were Kindaichi, Maigret and Poirot.

Sebastian tried to decide on the most likely place something would be hidden and looked at Ciel expectantly.

"Check underneath the chairs and tables, in the desk drawers and in the cupboards," Ciel suggested.

The chairs being on the tables instead of stacked in the corner made it easier to check under them. Not that there was anything there besides some very disgusting chewing gum. Sebastian was under the desk at the front when he found something. Written on the underside of the desk in black permanent market was 'Room 23' and 'Shelling Ford'. Sebastian took a photo on his phone in case either of them meant anything. By this point Finny had gone to check the other rooms by himself.

Next he peered into all the cupboards. This was the most difficult task due to the poor light. He resorted to trying to sense abnormalities in texture by touch. He was about to give up when Ciel spoke.

"There is a corner of a piece of paper sticking out right by your hand."

Sebastian felt a smooth texture right at the bottom of the cupboard right by the wall and gripped it with his nails and pulled it out. The piece of paper was brown and was uncannily similar to the colour of the woods used for the cupboards. He shone his torch on the piece of paper.

It was a grainy old photo of the exterior of the old building before it had all been boarded up. The important point was the face at the window on the top floor. It looked like a mask. One of the Seven Mysteries was a face at the window. He turned the drawing over to check if there was anything on the back.

"Mask looks like one owned in by drama club- investigate" was written in an untidy scrawl.

Now he knew the source of that mystery. The Seven Mysteries sounded like they were deliberately created a for a reason.

"Sebastian?" Finny called from the doorway. "I've checked all the other rooms."

Sebastian placed the photo in his pocket and left the clubroom. He was sure he had found anything that could be found.

They met up with the others by the entrance. Mey-Rin was sneezing profusely and muttering about dust and Bardroy's hair looked grey in torchlight and William looked the same as he had before they split up to search.

"What happened to you?" Finny asked Bardroy.

"Someone had to check all the lights- that person turned out to be me," he groaned. "Will wouldn't do it. The power is off here so we wouldn't know if they electrocuted anyone anyway."

"It was a fruitless search," the oldest member agreed. "The music room was the same. The piano was out of tune and certainly did not play by itself."

"We were more successful," Finny informed him with a smug smile. "There are twelve steps on the set leading to the top floor. We went in the old mystery club room as well."

That got everyone's attention for different reasons.

"That's interesting about the stairs," William said thoughtfully whilst Bardroy and Mey-Rin were more excited about the clubroom.

"Was it better than our room?" Mey-Rin wanted to know.

"Of course. It's a room dedicated to the mystery club and not just some classroom we have to use."

"Next is the statue outside, the cherry blossom tree and the well. I know where two of them are," William said. "Let's by quick about it, it is one o'clock and I want to get some sleep tonight."

Sebastian replaced the padlock and William led them around to the side of the building and shone his torch around.

"The statue is around here somewhere," he readjusted his glasses and pointed ahead of him. "It used to be whiter."

The statue was marble and looked to be of an angel holding a delicate looking sword in her hands. Sebastian felt that he had seen something like that sword before.

"Naturally there is no body hanging from it. "This used to be where the smokers used to sneak cigarettes. Even they would have reported the dead body."

"Where is the well?" Sebastian questioned.

"At the back. It might have been grown over by now- we were told going anywhere near it was a detention and taking off the cover meant immediate expulsion."

The threat of expulsion made it sound like there was definitely something hidden there. The well had moss growing up the side and looked unordinary until Sebastian noticed all the warning signs in red writing that were nailed onto the stonework. The dark light made the signs look even more ominous.

"I refuse to take the cover off in case we get caught," the oldest member made sure to say.

Sebastian sighed and gave it an experimental push. It seemed light enough to he pushed it to the side with relatively little effort. He shone his torch down it and saw nothing except black. Ciel joined him and had a look too.

"You need more light to see the bottom," he helpfully stated the obvious. "Tell those wimps they aren't going to get expelled."

Mey-Rin came to look of her own accord whilst the other three stayed where they were standing.

"You have all broken into school property and trespassed, this not going to add much," Sebastian said.

That persuaded them to help him to illuminate the well. The light was powerful enough for Sebastian to see something.

"Is that-" Mey-Rin looked queasy.

"I think it is," Finny answered sounding similarly ill.

At the bottom of the well the outline of something that looked like a skull was visible.


	6. Chapter 6

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 6:**

As a result of their discovery the night before the mystery club had an emergency meeting the following morning before school. This meant Sebastian was unable to meet Ciel in the library beforehand. He had been dying to ask Ciel if it was his skull in the well.

"On the positive side we know now why looking in the well is worthy of expulsion," Mey-Rin said brightly.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow whilst the other three remained silent and William glared at her. Judging by Ciel's state of affairs it was expulsion with a twist.

"That is one way of looking at it," he said to her. "Would you like to investigate further?"

Her face flushed red and she twisted her hands awkwardly. "Maybe."

Again Sebastian wondered what sort of discipline system the school has in place. It worked very effectively.

"Is the headmaster really scary?" he probed tentatively.

She shook her head. "When I attended the school, the deputy head was all we ever saw. He was very strict and severe. I've never seen the actual headmaster."

If he remembered his conversation with Derrick Arden correctly the head master had owned a pharmaceutical business and the original school building was where it had been housed. Thinking of that now that he had been there added significance to the information. That had to be the building he was in last night. Could the skull be connected to that?

"Has anyone ever met the headmaster?" he asked curiously.

Ciel had said he was too afraid to go into his office so he had to be involved somehow. There was a chance that Ciel had some latent memories regarding his death and unconsciously wanted to stay away from related places.

"I was under the impression he is never here. It is the deputy that does everything and appears in the promotional material," William said.

There went Sebastian's plan of going through the website and prospectus again. Bardroy raised a shaking hand.

"I've met the principal."

Next to him Finny was nodding. "He has. He nearly set fire to one of the labs and blew up a lot of expensive equipment."

Sebastian recalled being told that on the first day. The next question was why Bardroy had gone pale all of sudden and looked unwilling to speak. Sebastian looked at him and Bardroy let it all out at once.

"It was scary, his office was scary and he was scary. I can't remember much besides being scared. I don't think I can remember his face anymore. Sorry. He was just so creepy."

"Never give evidence in court," William commented unkindly. "You would be a very unreliable witness."

Sebastian could sense that the conversation was about to descend into trading of insults and there was only two minutes until the bell so he pressed forward with his main agenda.

"Who wants to continue with the Seven Mysteries?" he asked.

"I will," Finny said.

"Me too," Mey-Rin agreed.

Bardroy and William stayed silent. The chain smoker was avoiding eye contact and the other was looking straight ahead.

"I want to so you are both outvoted," Sebastian said with a plastic looking smile. "You two can sit this one out if you like."

* * *

Sebastian next encountered Ciel outside his Japanese class and they remained in the stairwell until everyone had filed out.

"We have a lot to talk about," Ciel said. "What was Elizabeth Midford like?"

The discovery of the skull had nearly made him forget about his meeting with her. He glanced at Ciel's hair and face again. There was definitely no resemblance between them.

"I cannot believe you two are related- she is much politer than you. She seemed to be very fond of you surprisingly."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "I'm about as fond of you as you are of me. Enough with my former self being wonderful and likeable, did you get anything useful?"

"Your parents know you are dead and they don't like Elizabeth trying to investigate."

The ghost frowned. "Oh. Do they not want to obtain justice for me?"

Sebastian could understand his thoughts. It sounded like Ciel's parents did not care that he was dead. The fact they were still in Japan indicated they did and their warnings to Elizabeth sounded like they did not want her to end up dead like Ciel.

"I think they do. It seems like someone more powerful than them is behind it and they cannot do anything. Do you know anything about the headmaster besides his scariness- it turns out Bardroy got sent to his office and was so scared he cannot remember anything about him."

Ciel shivered. "From what I overhear, he is not around here very often. His actual name is never mentioned and apparently anyone that meets him ends up leaving because he is so creepy."

Now Sebastian had a strong desire to meet the headmaster just to experience how scary he was. The only downside was that he did want to keep his life.

Ciel appeared to be able to guess his thoughts. "Do not try to meet the headmaster- it's too dangerous. You are human and can be killed."

The emphasis on being human made Sebastian suggest something to him.

"Why don't you take a peek? You are not human anymore so you cannot die again."

The ghost scowled at him and looked sulky for a few seconds before relenting.

"I will take a small peek and that is it."

"Good boy," Sebastian patted just above his head. "Do you know if that skull is yours?"

"I do not think it is. I did not feel anything when I saw it. I always imagined I would feel more complete if I found my body."

That meant the school had another victim. Come to think of it, if the well had been out of bounds before Ciel was murdered, there had to have been previous victims. That opened up new possibilities. Perhaps Ciel had found the skull six years ago and had been murdered for it.

Just then his phone buzzed so he pulled it out and checked the caller's identity. It was Elizabeth Midford's number.

"It is your cousin," he told Ciel and accepted the call. It had not been something he had been expecting at all.

"Sebastian? Am I calling at a bad time?" she asked.

"Not at all. Lunch break just started," he assured her. "May I ask why you are calling me at school?"

It had to be something important if she was taking the risk of calling him during school hours.

"I've just got back home from elevenses with Ciel's mum. I may have found her diary from six years ago on the way to the bathroom."

Of course that could be interpreted as being she had used the pretext to search her room.

"I take it you found something."

Ciel leaned in closer towards him and Sebastian put his phone on speaker so he could hear.

"On the day he disappeared it says he was intending on staying late at school to do something for the club. He never came back. The Police were contacted the next morning and then they had a visitor."

Sebastian and Ciel exchanged looks. Perhaps the mystery would be solvable now with just Lizzie's investigation.

"Did it say who the visitor was?"

He heard her make an exasperated noise and he guessed the answer before she said it. "No. It says 'R'. Clearly that means something to her. 'R' told them to drop the missing person's report before the Police arrived at the school."

That provided more clear evidence the school was behind it if they did not want the Police visiting and asking questions.

"They agreed as easily as that," Ciel griped and folded his arms. "How pathetic."

"She did not write what sort of influence 'R' had over them. Although it does say that 'R' refused to give them Ciel's body."

It was now clear how the Phantomhives knew Ciel was definitely dead. His murderer had told them.

"Is there anything that explains why they are still in Japan?"

"I was short on time so I did not get a chance to read anything else. I get the feeling they are waiting for 'R' to weaken and tell them where Ciel's body is," she paused for a moment before changing the subject. "Did you find anything in the old school building?"

He predicted she was going to squeal or scream when he told her about the well. He was right.

"Do you know if it is his?" she questioned once she was over the surprise.

"I don't. It would have to be handed over for investigation and it's too soon for that. We didn't have the means to go down and retrieve it either."

She sighed. "I would not put it past the school to have previous victims. The only people who could get to it and find out who it is would be the Police."

* * *

That evening Sebastian had his evening shower and was walking back to his room in his towel. As he walked past his mother sitting at the table in the dining area, the towel began to slip a little.

"Your towel's slipping," she helpfully pointed out.

"You have seen it before," he retorted.

It would have not been an unusual occurrence if he had not entered his room and found Ciel Phantomhive sitting on his bed. Ciel had definitely never seen him in a towel before.


	7. Chapter 7

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 7:**

There was an awkward moment of silence as they locked eyes. Ciel was the one to break it.

"You need to readjust your towel," he said awkwardly and turned around.

Sebastian closed his eyes and opened them. There was still a ghost in his bedroom. He readjusted his towel so it was not going to slip down anymore and tried to think straight. He had never thought this could occur due to the fact that Ciel was confined to school premises.

"How are you here?" he asked.

Ciel turned around to face him and looked faintly embarrassed. "I cannot take you seriously if you are half naked. Do you mind changing?"

Sebastian smirked as he sensed an opportunity for teasing.

"Does my semi nakedness bother you?" he winked.

Ciel glared at him. "I cannot take someone in a cat towel as an intelligent person."

It was at that point Sebastian realised Ciel was one of those barmy people that hated cats. He would have to make sure to wear all of his cat themed clothes too just to annoy him.

"Fine. Turn round again whilst I change into something else."

Out of vindication he selected a set of cat patterned pyjamas. The pattern was tiny so it was not easy to notice. He wondered how long it would take for Ciel to notice.

"You can turn around now."

Ciel looked him up and down before nodding. "That is much better. Your towel was very tacky."

If only Ciel knew he had just complimented something with cats on. He peered closely at him to see if there was anything different about him that would explain why he was in his bedroom. Even if Ciel had managed to leave the school grounds he should not know where he lived.

"Now that I am less 'tacky' will you explain how you are here?" he requested.

Ciel averted his gaze. "I did what you asked of me."

What he had asked was for Ciel to take a look at the headmaster. Judging from Ciel's actions it sounded like he was as scary as the rumours claimed.

"What did he look like?"

"He wears black. I could not see his face or hair because he was wearing a hat and his office is full of shadows and dimly lit," Ciel explained.

"Were you scared?" Sebastian asked gently.

"He looked in my direction and his eyes were terrifying. I immediately ran away and I thought of you. Then I ended up here. I was not sure where I was until I saw your name on those books on your desk."

Sebastian looked over and saw the stack of exercise books on his desk. He had a fair amount of homework due in the next few days that he had yet to start. He had left homework slide on account of the mystery.

"Am I stuck with you forever then?" Sebastian sighed.

The thought of Ciel watching him sleep was unnerving. He did not find it romantic in the slightest. He was not one of those idiotic teenager girls that considered it romantic if their love interest was in their room at night. Not that he considered Ciel a love interest.

Ciel's desolate frown turned into the beginnings of a smirk.

"Well, I have been stuck at school for six years. The possibility of exploring new places is quite exciting."

The thought of being confined like that for six years made him less inclined to send him back to the school. He didn't even know how to in any case.

"You can stay here with me. Just don't watch me sleep."

Ciel looked disgusted. "Why would I do that? Does that mean you read those books too? I overheard a conversation about it once between some airheaded girls."

"My mum read them," Sebastian shuddered.

A sudden knock at the door caused them to both get a fright. Sebastian almost made Ciel hide under the bed before remembering that no one else could see him.

"Are you talking to yourself?" his mother's voice called out.

The other issues of having Ciel around in his house were things he hadn't considered yet. The walls were thin so he would have to keep his voice down or find an excuse.

"Of course not," he answered loudly and waited for her leave.

"If you say so," she said doubtfully. "The cakes I ordered have arrived. Do you want to come and try them?"

"No," Sebastian replied instantly. "You know I hate sweet things."

At that very moment he felt like he was being given a death glare. There was only one other person in the room with him. Now he remembered Elizabeth telling him that Ciel wouldn't like him because he didn't like cake. He risked a look in Ciel's direction.

He was indeed glaring at him ferociously.

"Your loss," his mother said and he heard her walk away.

"You are inhumane," Ciel commented coldly.

There was a big flaw in the insult that Sebastian naturally exploited.

"You are not human either. You can go and have a look at all the cake. She always orders too much."

Ciel smiled suddenly and walked straight through the wall. Sebastian let out a sigh of relief when he was left alone. How was he going to cope with having Ciel constantly around?

When Ciel returned half an hour later Sebastian was partway through his pile of homework, he was planning on leaving the Japanese reading and writing exercises until last.

"How was the cake?" Sebastian asked.

"There were some types I have never seen before. It was quite informative actually."

Sebastian looked around at Ciel He looked unusually excited and Sebastian hid a smile. It was nice that Ciel was finally getting to experience things he enjoyed.

"Did you look into 'Shelling Ford'?"

Shelling Ford was the name written on the underside of the desk in the old clubroom. Sebastian had neglected that in favour of the skull.

"There isn't anyone with that name on social media," he told him as he calculated whether or not there was a significant difference between sets of figures.

"Have you done anymore in depth research into it? It doesn't sound anything like a real name," Ciel reminded him.

"Says 'Ciel Phantomhive'. I have lots of work to get though so it will have to wait. Unless you can read Japanese...?"

Ciel walked over and peered at his homework sheets. He did not look at all perturbed by them.

"I cannot believe you cannot recognise the Kanji for 'cat'."

Sebastian found his Japanese dictionary and checked. Ciel was correct.

"I think the first page is all animal names, the second is occupations, third is family," Ciel told him.

"Slow down so I can catch up."

With Ciel's help he had his Japanese homework done in half an hour so he had free time to devote to the mystery.

"Shelling Ford is definitely a unique name," Sebastian agreed. "Perhaps it is an anagram."

"I suggest you should just search it on a search engine before you start rearranging letters," Ciel offered his opinion.

Doubtfully Sebastian typed it in and instantly got some interesting results that were either tied to a village in England or to a famous fictional detective.

"Shelling Ford was the original intended name for Sherlock Holmes," he read aloud. "What kind of clue-"

He stopped as he remembered the posters decorating the walls of the classroom.

"There was a Sherlock Holmes poster on the wall."

Ciel nodded in agreement and sighed. "That means another night time visit to the old school building."

* * *

As this conversation was occurring two dark figures were having a meeting across Tokyo in the top floor of a sky scraper overlooking Tokyo Bay. What they had in common was that one they both worked at Weston International School and knew exactly what had happened to Ciel Phantomhive six years ago. One was the headmaster and the other was in a lower position of authority.

"I have heard that the mystery club are investigating the Seven Mysteries again," the headmaster said.

The other figure scoffed disdainfully. "That's hardly a concern. There is only one intelligent member and if he found out the truth behind them, he would keep his mouth shut."

The headmaster produced Sebastian Michaelis' school record and laid it out so his grades were visible.

"They have a new member who is just as good. He would run to the Police if he found out. His family are would be hard to apply pressure on because they have yet to be affiliated with my company."

The second figure scanned the information on Sebastian Michaelis.

"That's assuming they work it out. The means to solve the mystery should be beyond them because they won't break be able to break into the old building without leaving traces behind."

The head teacher pulled out a set of photos depicting Sebastian Michaelis accompanying a blond haired women in a pink dress.

"Unfortunately Sebastian Michaelis met up with Elizabeth Midford a few days ago in Harajuku. Under normal circumstances there should not be any connection between them."

"The person following her must be bored by now. All she ever does in buy clothes. Perhaps Sebastian Michaelis likes fashion too and they met by chance," the other person commented.

The first person burst out laughing. "If you saw what he wears to school, you would definitely agree he is not interested in fashion. The only possible connection between them is her cousin being a member of his club."

"Perhaps we need to issue a subtle warning to the club to stop them."

"I suggest starting with William Spears. He will recognise a warning when he sees it," the headmaster said with a nasty smile. "Do it as soon as possible."


	8. Chapter 8

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 8:**

It felt strange walking to sixth form with Ciel by his side, but it was not an unpleasant feeling. Ciel kept looking around with wide eyes at all the new scenery.

"Can we go somewhere after school?" he requested with pleading eyes.

Sebastian considered it for a moment before relenting. "I am out of teabags so yes, we can go out shopping."

For that he received Ciel's special smile. The heart stopping one. Ciel's nice smile was lethal. It was fortunate no one else could see him. Ciel was lucky that Sebastian was such an intelligent and considerate person. Anyone else would have tired of his battiness easily.

"Any suggestions on how to persuade everyone else to visit the old school building again? William in going to be the hardest to persuade," Sebastian sighed. "You are manipulative enough, surely you can think of something."

Ciel appeared to take that as a compliment rather than an insult.

"Tell them what you found and explain your theory. Emphasise that it is a mystery and you are the mystery club. As for William Spears, I think he knows something about the school and is keeping quiet."

Sebastian could see the logic in the first part and as for the second he had noticed William's nervous behaviour the previous day.

"How are you so sure about that?"

"Because no one else can see me it means I can stare at someone for however long I want. He looked very nervous in the meeting yesterday and went pale after the others said they wanted to continue. Actually I predict he will drop out the club."

The living teenager remembered another point. "He did attend the school at the time of your murder so perhaps he does actually know about you."

"I think you could crack him if you cornered him and applied the right pressure. You did a good job with Tanaka," Ciel complimented him unexpectedly.

Sebastian was about to tell the truth about how he got the key from Tanaka when Finny's conflicting description of Tanaka came to mind.

"Tanaka is suspicious as well. There is something not quite right about him."

Ciel groaned and ruffled his hair. "At this rate I will be stuck here forever. Please solve it before you leave."

They turned into the school gate which meant Sebastian could no longer talk to Ciel in a normal tone of voice.

"I promise," he whispered.

At lunchtime there was another mystery club meeting arranged and Sebastian intended to broach the subject of another night time exploration. He and Ciel found William, Bardroy and Mey-Rin waiting outside the classroom that doubled as the clubroom.

"Finny has gone to get the key," Mey-Rin informed him.

"Do we have to wait here? It is getting quite cramped in this corridor," William complained as they squashed against the wall to allow people to walk past them and down the stairs which were right next to them.

As he spoke another class of pupils streamed down the corridor with a white haired female teacher behind them. Sebastian moved out the way and as the teacher walked past she brushed against William causing him to pitch headfirst down the stairs.

Immediately Sebastian reached out and tried to grab him before it was too late. He caught William's wrist at an awkward angle and managed to stop him from falling any further.

"I am ever so sorry," the teacher said and loomed over them. "You should go to the school doctor in case you injured yourself."

As he was still holding William's wrist, Sebastian could feel his pulse and the rate of it rapidly increased once the teacher spoke. He wondered why until he saw the threatening glint in her purple eyes.

"We'll take him," Bardroy piped up and thankfully broke the tension.

"I'm sure you noticed that it was not an accident," Ciel said on the way to the doctor's office. "She was aiming for him and he knows it. Look at him."

Sebastian cast a look at the oldest member of their club. His skin had turned deathly pale and there was a faint sheen of sweat visible on his face.

"He definitely knows more than he is telling us," Sebastian whispered.

"I do not like doctors so I will not come in," Ciel said once they were outside the door. "I will stay here."

Sebastian nodded at him and knocked on the door. He opened it when he heard a reply from inside. The doctor's office smelt of a combination of medicine, disinfectant and something he could not identify. It was a brightly lit white painted room with a few beds along one side and a vase of white flowers on the windowsill. The doctor was standing by her desk dressed in a white coat which set off her red hair. Sebastian was of the opinion that her lipstick was too heavy for a doctor.

"Which one of you is the patient?" she asked with a faint trace of an English accent.

Bardroy pointed at William. "He had an accident on the stairs and hurt his wrist."

The doctor pushed him onto a chair and began examining his wrist. She appeared to be touching him more than necessary to the extent that Sebastian began to question her suitability as a school doctor.

"It seems like it is going to start swelling very soon. You can have an icepack if you want and stay here over lunchtime or you can have a compress," she paused. "Or you can go to hospital and have an x-ray."

The first option confirmed her nationality. He was surprised she didn't offer a wet paper towel too. That was a staple of first aid at British primary schools.

"I think I like the last option the best," William said with a very forced smile. "Thank you for your diagnosis."

"It's no problem," she smiled. "Try to avoid what you were doing to cause such an accident."

To Sebastian it sounded like a threat and considering how William froze up , he thought so too.

The club meeting was suspended until after school the next day to avoid William getting annoyed with being left out which meant discussing a return to the old school building to check the poster in the clubroom had to wait.

"Remember your promise to go out with me later," Ciel reminded Sebastian after school.

Sebastian smirked at Ciel's terminology. "Of course. Tea is a priority."

They passed a row of cherry blossom trees lining the pavement which caused Sebastian to realise they had yet to investigate one of the Seven Mysteries.

"We didn't check the cherry blossom tree after we found the skull."

Strangely enough Ciel looked unconcerned. "You wouldn't have been able to. It is impossible to find it even during the day. The trees surrounding the old school building are peach blossom trees. Trying to find a cherry blossom tree there is hard."

There was a chance there wasn't even a cherry blossom tree there. However the stairs, the well and the mask had proved that there was some basis of truth of the Seven Mysteries in some places.

"I don't suppose you would have found it," he said to Ciel hopefully.

The ghost gave him a disdainful glance that Sebastian had seen so many times that it didn't bother him anymore.

"I have been stuck here for six years. I have noticed there is a tree there that is different to the rest. It is directly in the middle of all the trees outside the building. There is nothing untoward about it."

Sebastian felt an overwhelming feeling of relief. The only other way to find it without being seen would be at night and walking around in the trees with a torch checking the shape of petals was not enticing at all.

"You are quite useful," he said.

Sebastian checked the address Elizabeth Midford had given them and they went off in search for some decent English tea. Ciel was completely taken aback at the sight of the crossing in Shibuya and Sebastian momentarily envied him for simply being able to walk through people instead of getting jostled and pushed.

Once they reached the shop Sebastian gravitated towards the tea whilst Ciel ambled off towards the sweets section. He was halfway through calculating how many days 150 teabags would last for when Ciel suddenly appeared beside him.

"Is the name of the company my father owns Funtom?" he asked.

Sebastian realised Ciel must have found some Funtom sweets and he followed him towards the sweets. Ciel pointed at some lollipops with the Funtom logo on and Sebastian picked up a caramel flavoured one.

"They only sell toys in Japan so you will never be able to see the full range of products here," he explained to Ciel. "Do you want me to get you one?"

"Please," Ciel said and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You should do that more often," Sebastian answered and kept hold of the lollipop.

"It would lose effect if I did."

He ended up buying five tins of tea and five Funtom lollipops that he was never going to eat. Neither was Ciel for that matter, but he bought them anyway.

"Is there anywhere else you would like to go?" Sebastian asked after checking the time.

"Can we visit my cousin?" Ciel requested.

The request was unprecedented but not unexpected. It had been likely that sooner or later that Ciel would want to see his family with his own eyes instead of relying on him for descriptions.

"Don't you want to see your parents more?"

Ciel gave him another disdainful look. "I am not being soppy. Elizabeth Midford should be acquainted with my handwriting. I want to know if the messages written underneath the desk were written by me. You haven't had any prior contact with my parents so it would be strange if you asked them."

Of course that was it. It had sounded unlikely to be for emotional reasons. From what he had knew about Ciel he was not an emotional person.

"How did you think of that?" he asked wonderingly. Checking the handwriting should have been something obvious.

"I don't sleep. I had to occupy myself with something last night," the ghost informed him.

It turned out that Elizabeth Midford lived in a fancy and expensive looking apartment block in a residential area of Tokyo that was more high class than Sebastian's.

"This place is so much posher than yours," Ciel commented as they went up to the tenth floor in the lift.

"I am not the child of a Marquis," Sebastian replied dryly. "I'm sure your parents live somewhere fancier than I do too."

The inside of Elizabeth Midford's apartment was far less pink that he had envisioned. It would be completely average if not for the occasional sight of ruffles and lace. She was also wearing a light blue dress instead of a pink one. She offered him tea which he accepted.

"What do you think of her?" he asked Ciel once she had left the room to make tea.

Ciel did not reply and Sebastian noticed his gaze was fixed on a set of photo frames on the sideboard. Sebastian picked one up and realised it was an old photo of the Phantomhive family. Ciel looked even younger with rounder cheeks.

"That is your parents and you."

Ciel stared silently and burst into a smile. "They look familiar. That means I could be getting closer to remembering."

There was an awkward moment when Elizabeth returned with the tea tray to find Sebastian peering at all the photo frames with Ciel in that he had lined up. There turned out to be a surprising number of them. Ciel appeared in more photos that she did although they were often pictured together.

"I see you remembered what Ciel looked like. To be fair, he did not change a lot as he grew up," she said and kindly didn't mention how weird he looked staring intently at photos of her cousin. "I made some nice Earl Grey. I have it imported directly from Harrods."

Her description enticed Sebastian and even Ciel to join her on the sofa. She waited until the tea had been poured before starting to ask questions.

"What do you need my help for?"

"We- I mean I, found a few things in the room that used to belong to the mystery club. I was wondering if Ciel wrote any of them. Can you identify his handwriting?"

Instead of asking why he hadn't told her before when she had phoned him, she simply nodded. Sebastian produced the photo of the old school building from his school bag and showed her the writing on the back.

"No. That is nothing like Ciel's handwriting," she said. "Have you investigated the mask yet?"

"No," Sebastian admitted reluctantly. "There was an incident today at school that was more important. I am planning to investigate the mask tomorrow."

Next he showed her the messages from under the desk and watched her face as she read them. He knew the answer before she said it.

"That is his handwriting and 'Shelling Ford' is something he would write- he was a very avid Sherlock Holmes fan."

If the clues were written by Ciel it could mean he had wanted to leave something behind in case he died which showed they were going in the right direction.


	9. Chapter 9

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 9:**

"So my past self was clever enough to leave hints, but not to avoid getting killed," Ciel observed on their way back from Elizabeth's apartment.

It did sound like the original Ciel Phantomhive had been smart, however sadly not smart enough to escape death.

"It has to be related to what's behind that poster in the clubroom. If I cannot get the others to come with me, I will have to go alone," Sebastian said, feeling only a small amount of trepidation.

Ciel stepped out in front of him and Sebastian barely managed to prevent himself from stepping through him.

"You are one hell of an idiot if you go alone. They knew we are investigating- they went to the trouble of pushing William down the stairs as a warning. If you go alone you might not be so lucky to get away with that."

Annoyingly enough Ciel was absolutely correct. If he went out alone after witnessing William get pushed and knowing that even Ciel was not smart enough to escape, he had to be stupid.

"Fine," he relented. "If I cannot persuade them, I am asking your cousin. She could scare anyone dangerous away with her pinkness."

Ciel scoffed. "Lizzie can do a better job of protecting herself than you."

Something besides the obvious anomaly of Elizabeth being stronger than him felt wrong about that statement. He soon realised what it was.

"You called her Lizzie."

"She insisted on it," the ghost replied.

Sebastian was very sure that had not occurred. "No, she did not. I have only called her Elizabeth-it's what she introduces herself as."

Ciel frowned. "You are right. I thought she asked to be called 'Lizzie'. Could it be a memory?"

"Perhaps your memory could return without solving the mystery after all- you would be able to remember what is behind the Seven Mysteries then," Sebastian suggested.

Ciel shook his head. "I think the school is the key. I was stuck there after all. The mystery needs to be solved first."

* * *

Another thing that Ciel was right about was William leaving the club. Finny opened the meeting the next day by waving around a resignation letter.

"Will has left. He said he was too busy with coursework and revision to continue being a member," he explained.

Upon hearing that Ciel and Sebastian exchanged looks. The school doctor and that teacher had definitely threatened him. As the leader of the club, Finny should have been the most likely target, not the former leader.

"I feel conflicted on how to feel about him quitting," Bardroy said. "He was so mean yet he was the brains until Sebastian showed up."

"Talking of Sebastian, Will left something behind him. It's a thank you for yesterday."

It would have been best if Sebastian had prevented the accident in the first place because William would still be a member and he would be able to ask him the questions he had wanted to. He was interested in seeing a thank you from someone who definitely didn't like him though.

Finny handed him a brown A4 envelope and Sebastian opened it and noticed there were several sheets of paper inside. Maybe William was capable of writing a whole essay about thanking him. He smirked, it would be interesting read.

He pulled out the first page and found that it was not quite what he had been expecting.

 _Dear Michaelis,_

 _I suppose I owe you for yesterday. It would have been a worse accident without your help._

 _In thanks I have provided some information you will need to solve the secret of the Seven Mysteries. I have noticed that you are subtly more interested in solving it than those three idiots._

 _William T. Spears_

From the corner of his eye he noticed Finny and Bardroy moving closer to see what the letter said. He quickly folded it in half and slid it back into the envelope.

"It just says 'I suppose I owe you for yesterday'."

Fortunately they believed him when he said that.

"Typical Will," Bardroy commented. "Snobby until the end."

"Now that's out the way, does anyone have any ideas about solving the mystery. I don't have any," Finny said awkwardly.

Sebastian decided that now was the best time to make his suggestion. He raised his hand.

"I have an idea, but it does involve doing some late night investigation."

Finny's face turned rapidly paler.

"Do you mean the well again?"

"Not at all," Sebastian replied. "There is something I wanted to check in the old mystery club room. Didn't Mey-Rin and Bardroy want to see the clubroom?"

Those two shared guilty looks.

"Well, yes," she admitted. "It would be interesting."

They made arrangements to meet at the back of the school at midnight and they all split up to go home. On their way out Sebastian finally asked about two things that had been bothering him.

"Who was the teacher that 'accidentally' knocked William down the stairs?"

Clearly Finny did not sense his sarcasm as he answered normally.

"That was Miss Blanc. She's very old and has been here since the school started. Apparently she's been secretly dating Mr Landers for years- he's pretty ancient too. They both teach Biology."

That teacher being one of the original teachers fitted perfectly into the mystery. There was definitely something to the idea that the original teachers were linked to the mystery. Now that he had found that out Sebastian moved onto the next question.

"Is there a drama club here?"

When he saw Finny's eyes fill with water he realised that it sounded like he wanted to leave the mystery club.

"Do you want to leave us so soon!? We need you."

With that Finny attached himself to Sebastian's arm and began bawling. Ciel smirked at him and Sebastian glared back.

"Finny, I am not leaving. It is simply related to the mystery," he told him and tried to pry him off his arm successfully. Finny had an unusually strong grip.

"Really?" Finny looked up at him with moist eyes.

"Yes and could you please let go of me now?"

Sebastian handed over a tissue and Finny detached himself.

"There is a drama club here, I can take you there now if you like."

Sebastian considered it. He was itching to see what William had provided, but he also wanted to tick off investigating one of the Seven Mysteries that he actually had a clue for. He made the decision to visit the drama club.

"I think the play they are doing this year is Hamlet," Finny said. "It's mostly always Shakespeare."

He knocked on a door that had a piece of paper affixed to it labelled 'Drama club-do not disturb'. Sebastian hoped they were not about to walk into the middle of a rehearsal.

A male student with very long blond hair opened the door.

"What do you want?"

Finny looked at Sebastian questioningly.

"We are from the mystery club. I have a question about props."

The student looked them up and down and turned his attention to Sebastian.

"Are you sure you don't want to try out for Hamlet?"

"I am very sure," Sebastian replied.

"Who is that?" Sebastian whispered to Finny as they were led through a room full of people in uniform reading scripts.

"Edgar Redmond. He was the head of the club last year. He should be in final year now. He still hangs around though, like Will."

Perhaps he was the perfect person to ask about the Seven Mysteries. Edgar came to a stop in a room of overflowing boxes. There was an opened box on the floor containing a selection of plastic swords clearly intended for Hamlet.

"What did you want to ask?"

Sebastian produced the photo.

"Have you seen this mask before?"

Edgar took the photo and peered at it closely. A look of recognition appeared in his eyes.

"It's the Seven Mysteries mask. I thought all photos of it had been destroyed. The quality on this one could mean it's a photo or photocopy of the original photo."

Sebastian knew he had now found something and someone who was willing to talk about the Seven Mysteries.

"Can you explain further?" he requested.

Edgar flipped his hair back theatrically and Sebastian just knew he was going to be dramatic.

"One of the Seven Mysteries is the 'face at the window'. It was just a rumour until someone happened to take a photo at the right time."

Sebastian was sure that the school had been happy about that.

Edgar continued on. "The face looked familiar to some people and someone claimed it was a mask the drama club had. It all came to an end when no one could find the mask and the original photo and any copies went missing."

That meant this mystery was deliberately manufactured by someone to scare people away. If the mask appeared on the top floor, it meant it was the floor which the clubrooms were on.

Edgar clapped his hands suddenly. "I know who you two remind me of. Six years ago, two boys from the mystery club came to ask the same questions."


	10. Chapter 10

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 10:**

It had to have been Ciel and someone else. He tried to think of a way to ask and to give a clear description of Ciel.

"Was one of them about this height?" he put his hand level with Ciel's head and checked the colour of his hair."Did he have bluish grey hair?"

Edgar looked momentarily lost and Sebastian realised that remembering a detail like that from six years ago would be hard for a normal person.

"One of them was. I only remember because I thought he looked perfect for the lead role in the production we were doing that year," he said. "I asked him if he wanted to audition and he gave me the dirtiest look I have ever seen."

Based on past experience Sebastian could imagine the scene very well.

"What was the play that year?"

"Alice in Wonderland," Edgar said innocently. "I thought he would be a good Alice."

Sebastian observed Ciel's reaction. His face showed a combination of embarrassment and annoyance.

"How could he be Alice if he was a boy?" Finny asked and Ciel nodded eagerly.

"I was eleven at the time..." Edgar shrugged. "He was more adorable than any of the girls that auditioned."

"Did you ever see him again?"

Edgar shook his head. "I never saw him again. I happened to see the mystery club once grouped outside their clubroom in the new building. I remember the other boy that visited being there, but the cute one wasn't. I assumed he had left halfway through the year and forgot about it until now."

It was a shame that he had never asked about Ciel after that, but he had provided some useful information. He wanted to ask one more question before he left though.

"Do have any ideas who stole the mask and used it to scare people?"

Edgar frowned. "I always envisioned it as being a teacher. The door to this room is locked and we did have an inventory of props. A member of the drama club would have removed it off the inventory to avoid detection. Someone outside the club wouldn't know about it so I think it was a teacher. Probably a member of the Weston Six."

"What is the Weston Six?" Finny asked.

Edgar looked around suspiciously as if to check for eavesdroppers.

"The Weston Six are the original six teachers that have always been here- it's what the older students used to call them. I don't actually know who they are- everyone just used to say how eccentric and scary they were."

Sebastian was willing to bet that the teacher Angela Blanc who had pushed William was one of the Weston Six. She was certainly old and creepy enough to fit the category.

"So that conversation was all to see if the 'face at the window' story from the Seven Mysteries was true?" Finny questioned eagerly once they had left the drama club.

"It's sort of like that. I have an idea that something is hidden in the old mystery clubroom. I found that photo there."

Finny's eyes sparkled in excitement. "Really? You are doing such a good job. I feel more excited than scared about tonight now."

Personally Sebastian was of the opinion that it was right to feel slightly scared about trespassing. They would have to be very discreet and quiet tonight.

"Do you know where the cherry blossom tree is?" Finny asked suddenly. "They all look like cherry blossom trees."

"Cie- I mean, I do know where it is," Sebastian stumbled over his words slightly. "There is not anything strange about it. The only strange thing is that there is only one. The rest are peach blossom trees."

"Perhaps peach blossom trees were cheaper to plant."

The ghost was in a grumpy mood on the way back home due to the knowledge that he had been offered the role of Alice. Sebastian enjoyed watching him pout and huff so he let him stew in silence for a while.

"At least we found out about the mask and the Weston Six," he paused. "Even if it was the cost of your manliness."

Ciel shot him a sour look and then dropped the matter in favour of juicer one.

"What do you think is in that envelope Will gave you?"

Sebastian felt his bag to check that there was still something A4 shaped in there. Losing it would be a very frustrating matter. He couldn't image William giving him another copy either. After taking his shoes off, Sebastian hurried to his room and locked the door. He didn't want his mother to suddenly walk in and ask what he was doing. He drew out the envelope and carefully pulled out all of the contents. The first page was covered with neat handwriting.

 _I suppose a brief history of the school would be relevant. The school is owned by the former owner and CEO of Tatra Chemicals which traded in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I do not know his name though. The logo of that company is the sword which the statue outside the old building holds._

That explained why it had looked so familiar- it was like less intricate upside down version of the medical symbol.

 _The company suddenly shut down in 2001. It was actually sold to a larger corporation which currently trades as Fudo Pharmaceuticals. The headmaster sits on the board of Fudo Pharmaceuticals. As you have guessed my family supply them. Without that major customer, the family business would probably collapse._

It was nothing that Sebastian hadn't already suspected. It was clear that the headmaster had a hold over William. The major question he had was why had the company shut down so suddenly.

 _The reasons for closure are unknown, however there is a rumour that a drug they were testing did not go to plan and caused the deaths of the volunteers in the trial. I cannot vouch for that story's validity as no dead bodies have turned up until we saw the skull in the well. That is what made me suspect the rumour is true and the Seven Mysteries exist to scare people away from looking closely at anything._

It was almost certain that William was on the right track. It was all starting to add up now. There were definitely some missing puzzle pieces, but the picture was starting to become clearer. The company had covered up deaths before and had continued the trend with Ciel nine years later.

 _Along with the CEO and owner being the headmaster, there were other staff members who became teachers. It is clear they are keeping an eye on the mystery club. Be careful._

Sebastian considered that to be the kindest thing William had ever been. He almost wanted to see the other member's reactions to it. The next page was a rough floor plan for the building. Sebastian appreciated it as he had not had the opportunity to explore all of it. Ciel leaned over his shoulder to have a look.

He pointed at the ground floor layout. "There is room 23."

Sebastian remembered the past Ciel's clue under the desk and realised it should have been obvious what it had referred to.

"It should be a science lab. They were all checked by William, Bardroy and Mey-Rin. What was significant about it might not be there anymore."

"They were not looking for the same thing as us though," Ciel pointed out. "You have proven yourself to be moderately intelligent- you can do a better job than them."

Sebastian tried not to preen at the compliment and changed the subject by turning to the next page.

"There is something else here."

 _Regarding the old school building, there was something strange about its closure. As I mentioned before it was only used for clubs and the labs and that was supposed to continue until the summer holidays. In mid April it unexpectedly closed down, the trees were planted outside and all science lessons became theory based. It was rumoured that someone died in an accident there and the school did not want anyone to know. I did not believe it myself until we found that skull._

"You must have died in April," Sebastian commented. "They must have really cared about covering up your death."

"That does not make me feel important or flattered," Ciel griped. "Or feel any better about being dead."

 _There has to be something hidden in there. If you cannot find it, you are a disappointment to the club so find some evidence and do something. If you get caught, do not mention I told you anything._

Sebastian sighed. "Charmingly rude as always."

* * *

Spurred on by the new information Sebastian and Ciel sneaked out and made their way to the school at around midnight. None of the other club members were there yet so Sebastian made a point of standing in the shadows instead of under a streetlight like they had last time. After they had all gone over the wall he rearranged the flowerbed they had landed in. They could not afford to leave traces.

"Sebastian says there is something important in the old mystery clubroom," Finny announced to the rest of them as they stood around waiting for Sebastian to unlock the padlock.

"That's cool," Bardroy said. "But how does he know?"

"He has put the most effort in," Mey-Rin answered. "With Will gone there is no one to disagree with him either."

Bardroy crossed his arms. "I don't know who he thinks he is, but Finny is the president of the club and not him."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "Someone is undermining your authority."

Sebastian sighed. "Where would they be without me?"

He pulled off the padlock and pocketed it for safety. If someone found it had been unlocked whilst they were in there and locked it; they would be stuck inside without any escape. He informed the others it was open and they all switched their torches on.

Mindful of danger Sebastian looked around for signs that anything had changed since their last visits. There was still lots of dust swirling in the air and it smelled musty signalling that the air had not been disturbed. If it wasn't for Tanaka he wouldn't have the key so their visits to the building must be outside the headmaster's predictions.

He led the procession up to the top floor and the combined light from all of their torches made it much easier to see. The clubroom looked very different with better light. Sebastian's eyes immediately locked on the Sherlock Holmes poster.

"It's a lot bigger than our room," Mey-Rin observed. "The posters are a nice touch too."

"Sebastian, what do you think is hidden here?" Finny asked.

Sebastian put down his torch and strode over to the poster and slowly pulled it away from the wall. He knew there was something there when the others gasped.

Hidden by the poster was a filled in rectangular shape of plaster with cracks running down it that wasn't painted yellow like the rest of the wall. Sebastian tapped it experimentally and found that it sounded hollow.

"There is something behind here."


	11. Chapter 11

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 11:**

There was another clubroom next door and there hadn't been any sign of a filled in hole in the wall there so it could be a very deep cavity in between the rooms. He was slightly nervous that a dead body was going to fall on him if he destroyed the plaster completely. The others came to join him.

"It looks like it's undergone some damage from earthquakes," Bardroy observed. "It shouldn't be hard to break through."

Sebastian examined it closely. As Bardroy had said he could probably break his way through as it had been weakened, but he could see traces of much darker plaster as if it had been covered up a few times before. He picked up his torch and used it to illuminate the wall so he could take a photo. Recording the evidence before he destroyed it was a sensible move.

After taking a clear photo he gave the wall a hard punch and the plasterboard splintered and fell away. It was much easier than he had thought.

"I was about to suggest using a chair," Finny said weakly. "But that seemed to work."

Ciel moved through the wall into the cavity and Sebastian shone the torch inside so Ciel would be able to see.

"It does not look like the ceiling is going to fall in," he observed. "There appears to be some stairs in here. There is not anything else."

"Can you see anything in there?" Mey-Rin asked. For a moment Sebastian thought she was asking Ciel.

"I think there are some stairs," he answered and climbed into the small space where Ciel was waiting, "Are you all coming with me?"

The inclusions of a secret staircase did explain why there was twelve steps instead of fourteen on the flight leading to the top floor. These stairs had to lead to something in the roof which was an area they had not been able to explore. Perhaps the pharmaceutical company that the building belonged to had been up to something illegal and the rumour William had mentioned was true.

He slowly made his way up the stairs mindful of any broken stairs and found himself in a large room with a low ceiling. He waited for the remaining members to arrive before he properly investigated so the light would be brighter.

It became evident it was a small laboratory. The walls were off white and covered in damp. There was a shelf full of laboratory standard substances and the cupboards were full of dusty glassware, micropipettes, microscopes and dyes. What was missing was any documentation to hint what the laboratory was used for. Even some health and safety risk assessments would be helpful. If it was a hidden lab, what went on had to be top secret, illegal or both.

"There's an empty blister pack of pills here," Mey-Rin announced and held it up. "It's strange- the name of the drug isn't printed on it so I have no idea what it is. Is that even legal?"

Perhaps there were things to find after all. He should not give up so quickly. Ciel was on the other side of the room peering through all the cupboards they had left open and looked to be very invested in searching. He couldn't let Ciel do all the work so he concentrated on their only finding so far which was the empty pack of pills.

If the packaging was unmarked it could be a trial drug. According to the information from William, the rumour was about volunteers dying in a drug trial. Could this be evidence that backed up the rumour?

"Where did you find it?" he asked Mey-Rin.

She pointed to the sink and Sebastian did his best not to miss anything. He did not have a good track record of finding things yet. Past Ciel had found the space behind the poster and ghost Ciel had found the photo of the mask. The inside the sink was very dusty with old spider webs which was to be expected. The only place something could be concealed was the plughole. He shone the torch in and struggled to see if there was anything. Ciel joined him and helped him out in an unusually non condescending manner.

"There is something really thin in there. Just stick your hand in and feel along the right hand side."

Sebastian followed the instructions and felt something thin like Ciel had said. He carefully pulled it out and shone his torch on it.

It was a strand of hair. It matched Ciel's hair colour exactly.

It probably was Ciel's hair.

Ciel stared at it with a look of recognition.

"So I have been here before?" he said wonderingly.

Sebastian nodded and became aware that he was being given strange looks by the other three. It did look like he was nodding to the sink so he could understand the confusion. He placed the hair in a sample bag that he had brought with him and took the empty pack of tablets from Mey-Rin.

"Should we take photos?" Finny asked. "I'm going to think this is all a dream tomorrow if I don't."

They all grouped together the produce photos with appropriate lighting. Sebastian's motive for taking photos was of course much different. Some hard evidence was going to be required to prosecute Ciel's murderer and the laboratory wasn't guaranteed to stay in its current state permanently.

On their way back down Bardroy asked a question that Sebastian had been waiting for someone to ask for half an hour.

"Um, why is there a secret lab here? And why is Sebastian not surprised?"

Finny patted him on the shoulder. "I was just waiting for him to explain in good time."

"It's an _illegal secret_ lab," Sebastian emphasised as he replaced the poster as he had found it. "This building used to belong to a drugs company."

Bardroy looked like he was working something out slowly.

"So if it's illegal and secret, if they find out we know, we will have to go to the principal's office!" he gasped. "We will get expelled!"

Sebastian snorted, expulsion sounded better than certain death. He neglected to remind him about the skull in the well. It wouldn't do to have another member drop out and there was a chance that Bardroy would grass on them to save himself.

"Is there anywhere else we need to go?" Mey-Rin asked. She had been taking all of the revelations surprisingly well.

"Room 23, it's on the ground floor."

That classroom looked just looked like an average science lab from twenty years ago with lots of dark wood and benches fixed in place instead of tables and sterile white gas taps. All they turned up was a lot of dust, a nest of dead spiders, dirty glassware and a dead rat.

When he closed the door behind them after temporarily giving up, the nameplate on the door caught his attention. It was very faded with only a few letters visible.

It looked like it said 'Ange... B...' which had to be Angela Blanc who was of course the teacher that had threatened William. Could Ciel be indicating that she had killed him? Instantly he realised it didn't make sense. Ciel wouldn't have known who had killed him when he was alive and he couldn't have left that message as a ghost. It had to mean something else.

* * *

After school the next day Sebastian dutifully did all of his homework without Ciel's help whilst the ghost was occupying himself by watching television in the lounge. Then the mystery took priority and he called Ciel back in.

"Where should we go from here? You are clearly the detective fan- no one else would have used 'Shelling Ford' to refer to a Sherlock Holmes poster. You have to have some ideas from all those detective stories," Sebastian said.

No one had offered any idea at the club meeting at lunchtime. Not that he had expected them to particularly useful. It would have been useful to get their views on it as they didn't know as much as he did and would see some things from a different perspective.

"You could make a timeline of events," Ciel suggested. "It would make motives much clearer to understand. It might start to all add up."

Sebastian saw the merits and briefly admired how quick Ciel was. If he had to investigate his own murder he would get stuck at the first hurdle.

"So Tatra Chemicals develops a drug that accidently kills volunteers during the trial. The company building is converted into a school. Seven years later, Ciel Phantomhive attends Weston International School. The mystery club investigates the Seven Mysteries and you find out about the mask which suggests they are fake. Somehow you find out about the secret behind the poster. You have to have been killed very soon after that. Someone blackmails your parents to keep the Police away from the school. The building is closed down and you now haunt the school."

"That has to be right. That was surprisingly good and succinct."

Sebastian fought back a smirk at the compliment and tried to work out what they were missing in order to solve the mystery. They knew the motive and the reasoning behind it now. The timeframe had been narrowed down too. The who, how and the where the only missing elements.

"The people involved have to be the Weston Six and the headmaster. Finny told us the names of two of them and the clue you left points to Angela Blanc being definitely involved."

Ciel looked thoughtful and then his eyes widened.

"Is there any chance your parents want to have dealings with Fudo Pharmaceuticals? You might learn the name of the headmaster that way."

Sebastian considered it. Unless there was a market expansion he was unaware of, there shouldn't be any chance their paths would cross. Then he remembered that his father had been in talks with William's father who had connections with Fudo Pharmaceuticals. There was a slim chance that his father might know something about the headmaster.

"I think we might have a chance. I will have to ask at dinner."

So he waited patiently at dinner for everyone to finish eating. Dinnertimes had become more entertaining when Ciel was present at the table. It was hard to not talk to him or even acknowledge his presence.

After dinner coffee provided a chance for Sebastian to ask.

"Have you had any dealings with Fudo Pharmaceuticals yet?"

His father looked surprised that he was expressing interest in business matters.

"Actually I have met a few people on the board through another company. I don't really have any plans to expand that far yet though. The strange thing was that the headmaster of your school is on the board of directors. He must not actually run the school if he has that much spare time."

That was exactly what he had been hoping for. He exchanged a small smile with Ciel.

"No one has ever seen the headmaster so I am a little curious. What did he look like?" Sebastian questioned.

His father was not the best with physical descriptions so he would have to prompt him if the description was too vague.

"He was old and creepy," his father contributed helpfully. "His voice was surprisingly bone chilling and his laugh was unnerving."

That was a general description of any headmaster. Sebastian pressed on,

"Did he have short hair?"

His father made a face. "It was actually very long and there was even a plait. I did say he was weird."

The description did narrow things down. Sebastian was sure there weren't too many people with that hairstyle around.

"With that hairstyle his fashion had to be equally strange," his mother commented over her chiffon cake.

"Everyone was in smart dress so it was relatively normal. He had a top hat and a long necklace."

"That is unique," Sebastian said. "Do you remember his name? You can't find his name anywhere at school."

One of the most surprising things that could ever happen occurred. His father smiled.

"I know why. You won't believe me without evidence so I will show you his card."

His father returned a minute later with the card and passed it to him. Immediately Sebastian understood why it wasn't written on any of the promotional material for the school.

Mr. Under Taker


	12. Chapter 12

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 12:**

Undertaker was one of the most fitting names for someone suspected of covering up a murder. Sebastian was tempted to make a joke and tease Ciel, but ultimately decided he didn't want a sulking Ciel to share his room.

In the end it was Ciel who used the opportunity for a joke.

"I hope he was a good undertaker when I died."

Sebastian smirked. "Indeed. It's useful to know his name and what he looks like. However it does not get us anywhere. Knowing the names of the Weston Six would be better."

Ciel sighed. "You are new there so you aren't any use for that. You can enlist the other members' help for that one."

Ciel had a very good point. Giving Mey-Rin, Bardroy and Finny something to do would make them feel useful. It would also produce a beneficial team spirit to the club as well. Naturally that was not how he phrased it at the meeting the following day.

"So we need to find six teachers that have always been here," Mey-Rin summarised. "We know two so we just have to find the other four."

"Miss Blanc and Mr Landers were obvious because they look so old," Bardroy groaned. "The school isn't that old so it won't be obvious by their age."

Sebastian nodded. "Go for the older teachers to start with. We know they all became science teachers so look in that department first. There is a chance that they don't all teach the same subject now. You can eliminate any teachers in their twenties for obvious reasons."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ciel jump down from his perch in the corner and stand behind him.

"Tell them to split up and to not ask the same people. It reduces suspicion that way."

Sebastian knew Ciel had a very good point so he added it onto his instructions. It was only when Finny stood up and cleared his throat did he remember that the leader of the club was actually someone else and not him.

"I recommend that we all follow Sebastian's instructions," he paused. "Only on one condition though."

Resistance was something that Sebastian had not anticipated. He looked over at Ciel to see if he could guess what it would be. Ciel simply shrugged.

"Sebastian hasn't been on a social with us yet. We need to strengthen our relationships especially with the loss and addition of members."

Whilst he did agree that a strong sense of teamwork was needed so no one else would drop out or in the worst case scenario, sell them out, he wasn't sure that he wanted to go to anything with them.

"Just agree to it," Ciel advised. "They will never drop the subject if you don't. Just make sure to say you don't want to do karaoke."

He had no idea that was even an option.

"I will go to one at least. I have a condition though: no karaoke."

Finny looked a little disappointed about that but agreed to it nonetheless. The trio began to discuss options between themselves. Ciel sat down in the empty chair next to him.

"I have been the invisible members of lots of clubs so I know about their socials," he explained. "British people aren't confident enough to sing in front of others unless they are a bit tipsy. They all end up with hangovers afterwards."

One thing that Sebastian was sure of was that he didn't want to witness Mey-Rin, Finny or Bardroy singing out of tune whilst intoxicated. He was glad that Ciel had helped him avoid that. He watched the trio opposite him squabble about where to go. He heard the words 'cat cafe' and perked up. Finally he would have the opportunity to go somewhere he had only read about.

Beside him Ciel's face developed a scowl. "Not a cat cafe. A maid cafe would be slightly more preferable."

"Don't they wear cat ears there?" Sebastian whispered back to annoy him.

"If you get excited by synthetic cat ears that don't even look realistic, you are a complete and utter idiot," Ciel snapped.

"You said I was intelligent the other day."

Ciel glared at him. "You are an idiot when it comes to cats."

Sebastian was about to reply when he realised there was no other conversation occurring in the room and he was being stared out.

"We have come to a decision," Finny announced. "We were deadlocked between a butler cafe, a maid cafe and a cat cafe. In light of that we have decided to go for a normal one."

He could guess who had chosen each of them. Of course he felt disappointed about the lack of cats. Ciel on the other hand looked quite satisfied.

"There is this quaint place about twenty minutes away that just does English teatime fare. The selection of tea is really good," Mey-Rin said.

That sounded just as a good as a cat cafe to Sebastian. It would also keep Ciel happy.

"You English with your tea," the American member griped.

"You're outvoted," Finny said happily. "Besides you like crumpets and cream teas too. Don't deny it."

As was typical with Japan, the English name of the cafe was unique, although 'Black Butler' was nowhere as bad as some of the shop names Sebastian had seen so far. The interior was obviously Victorian inspired with the damask wallpaper and lots of lace doilies and tablecloths.

Sebastian took a sceptical look at the menu. As Mey-Rin had promised the choice was varied. The options were so wide he had to admit he had never heard of some of them before. New Moon Drop tea was completely new to him.

"We should get afternoon tea," Mey-Rin commented. "We'll get the full experience that way."

Sebastian was of the same opinion and they ordered two between the four of them. He was also very content when he noticed that the tea came in teapots. Afternoon tea would be worth the wait. After the meeting in the morning they had all split up for investigation and to go to lessons and had agreed to meet here to pool their findings.

He let his teabag steep a little before pouring the tea into his cup and added his preferred amount of milk.

"What did you find?" he asked.

The three of them pulled out notepads which Sebastian approved of.

"We know about Miss Blanc and Mr Landers so there were only four to find. I found Mr Kelvin," Finny contributed. "He's the creepy Chemistry teacher. He's _really_ creepy."

"Ew, I know who he is," Bardroy shuddered. "I got Mrs Saxe-Coburg, the history teacher. Very posh sounding."

Saxe-Coburg was the former surname of the royal family before it changed to Windsor. However it was highly unlikely for Bardroy to recognise that. That added up to four members of the Weston Six. There were two to go.

He turned to Mey-Rin. "What about you?"

She grinned at him and he could tell she had found the last two.

"One is Charles Grey the Physics teacher. The other one was much harder to find."

Just as she was about to continue Bardroy pointed to something behind to Sebastian.

"That girl over there completely matches with this place."

Sebastian turned around to see a new customer enter the cafe. As Bardroy had observed she was wearing the perfect outfit for a Victorian inspired cafe. He also recognised who she was. It was Elizabeth Midford.

She spotted him and walked over to their table. He saw her glance at the others before speaking.

"Are you with the mystery club?" she enquired.

"You know who we are?" Bardroy asked.

"Well, I only know Sebastian," she admitted. "I know what club he is part of so you must be the other members."

"Do you want to sit with us? You can hear all about our exploration at school last night," Finny offered.

There was technically only one free chair at the table as the other one was being occupied by Ciel Phantomhive who was of course invisible to everyone except Sebastian. Elizabeth pulled out that chair and Ciel promptly stood up and moved along to the other empty chair.

"Are you having afternoon tea?" she asked.

"Of course," Mey-Rin replied.

Once everything had arrived the idiot trio launched into a dramatic renditions of everything that had happened the night before. Some accuracy was sacrificed for dramatic extra details.

"It was a dark and stormy night," Finny began.

"It was very mild actually," Sebastian whispered to Elizabeth who smiled.

"We climbed over the wall like ninja," Bardroy continued.

"No, you got stuck and needed help," Sebastian corrected.

For that he received a sulky look and he decided to let them embellish until it came to important parts. Elizabeth Midford had enough common sense to notice when she was not being told the complete truth. He took over once it came to the poster on the wall. He saw she understood the link to the 'Shelling Ford' hint.

She was silent when he told her about the hair he had found in the sink and when he told her about where the other hint led to, she looked a little upset. He couldn't work out why though.

When they had all finished Sebastian looked out the window and realised it was completely dark outside. He had enjoyed spending time with everyone else to the extent that she had lost track of time. They split the bill and grouped outside.

It was only when Mey-Rin said goodbye to him did he realise that she had never got a chance to tell him about the final member of the Weston Six. He reminded her and she told him and the answer was quite a surprise. Elizabeth who was standing next to him looked completely unsurprised and still looked sad.

Once it was only the two of them and Ciel standing outside she grabbed his arm.

"Come with me."

* * *

 **One week later:**

Armed with the knowledge of who had killed Ciel, Sebastian knocked on the door of a room at Weston International School. Once he heard a faint reply he stepped inside.

He didn't hesitate to get straight to the point.

"Why did you kill your nephew, Dr. Durless?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 13:**

 **May 2010:**

Ciel cast an annoyed look at the leader of the mystery club on his way out. Currently the idiot believed that the mysteries were completely real despite the evidence the other members had unearthed so far which proved the opposite. He himself was of the opinion that they were fake and there was something behind them. Not that the leader of the club could be persuaded that was the case.

"He is an idiot," he muttered.

His friend overheard him and nodded. "Exactly. How are we supposed to the investigate the mysteries when one of the key locations- the well, is out of bounds?"

Ciel snorted. "Just do it at night and no one will know."

"He's too much of a wimp to do that. Ciel, you should solve the mystery and usurp him."

The almost future earl smirked at that. "I should."

They were almost at the exit to the building and Ciel realised he had left the revision guide he needed to take home in the clubroom.

"I forgot something. Don't bother to wait for me- we don't even walk the same way home," he said and turned to leave.

He rushed back to the clubroom that was now illuminated by the fading sun. The book was lying on top of the cupboard near to the oversized and fading Sherlock Holmes poster. It was lopsided and was incorrectly positioned in relation to the window and was fading rapidly as a result. Sherlock Holmes did not deserve that.

So he reached up on tiptoes and pulled the poster away from the wall to readjust its position. It was a decision that proved to be fatal.

Where the poster had been was a very large hole in the plaster. Ciel knew it was significant because a hole in the wall should go through to the clubroom next door which it did not. It looked like it was a secret passageway.

A feeling of excitement spurred him on. He texted his mother to tell her he was staying behind to investigate something for the club and that he might be late for dinner as a result. He had no idea it would be the last time he would ever have contact with her.

For once he was glad that he was so small because it made it easier to climb into the recess. All he had for light was his phone and the small torch on his keyring so he walked slowly through the small space. He managed to see a set of steps and he realised that there was a secret attic to above the clubhouse.

As he walked up the stairs he theorised what could be there. Nothing was a possibility as the entrance had been closed off. He had a feeling that the hole in the wall was a result of structural weakening from an earthquake. The secrecy of it all hinted that whatever it was, was illegal.

Ciel smiled. He could be fine with that. The Phantomhive family of the past did have some dubious morals. However there had been certain lines that were never crossed.

When he found there were no more steps he tried his best to get an idea of where he was. All he could see were flashes of white. He scowled, he had made it this fair only to get scuppered by a lack of light. He thought about it logically. If he was in an attic with no natural source of light, there had to be an artificial source.

He felt along the wall nearest to the steps for a light switch and managed to find one which he pressed. The room was flooded with light and Ciel knew what it was then. It was a secret laboratory. He remembered that this building had originally been used by Tatra Chemicals. Obviously they had been up to something illegal.

Eager to find evidence, he had a snoop around. There was a only a relatively light layer of dust on everything so the room had to have been used since the school had been opened. In the sink was a pack of tablets. Ciel noticed there weren't labelled and correctly guessed that they were a new medication that was probably illegal. He took the remaining tablets and pocketed them. He could get his father to find someone to analyse them.

He found a stack of paperwork in a drawer and read through it. The first few pages were about the structure and makeup of the drug and what it was supposed to do which was enhance brain power. Things took a darker turn when he moved page and saw what had happened to the six human test volunteers. It hadn't been compatible and they had died painfully.

That explained why the company had hastily closed down and sold off the building to become a school He wondered what had happened to the bodies when he spotted a large vat in the corner. He had a feeling what it was before he read the label. 18 molar Sulphuric Acid.

They had used sulphuric acid to disintegrate the dead bodies. He began to feel dread in the pit of his stomach. He turned to the next page of the paperwork to see if he was right.

 _'Placing the bodies in the well and submerging them in acid slowly disintegrated them. More submersion should take care of the remains, although it may take some time. Further tests needed.'_

The well was part of the mysteries of the school and was the only location in the mystery that was completely out of bounds with an expulsion threat attached.

Ciel realised the truth then. The school mysteries just existed to keep people away from the well. He began to get an inkling that he was in over his head. The slightly unsavoury activities of the Phantomhive family were not anything on this scale.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw the name on the bottom of the report.

A. Barnett

A family member was involved after all.

He had to tell his father about it. He would have to know what to do. He just had to get home first. He took a pixellated photo of the report before noticing that his power guzzling phone had a low battery. Hopefully it would hold out until he saw somewhere with signal. There was also a payphone in the entrance of the building that he could use.

He turned off the light and made his way back down the stairs carefully. He couldn't fall down and get trapped now. Ciel found that his phone died that moment he tried to call home. He would have to do down to the payphone.

A fearful thought went through his head. What if he never made it that far? He would have to leave a message that wouldn't be understood by the average person. A member of the mystery club would be able to interpret it correctly. Ciel took out a permanent market from his bag and with a shaking hand wrote two lines underneath the desk where the club leader sat.

Shelling Ford was supposed to indicate the poster and room 23 was the number of his aunt's classroom.

With that done he put on his school bag and prepared to get to the ground floor. The building was now completely silent as all of the clubs had ended and the only sounds were his breathing and footsteps. He kept a very keen eye out for signs that someone else was around. He relaxed when he reached the final set of stairs and could see the phone.

Then he heard the rustling of clothing and someone's footsteps. He spun around just in time to see the Biology teacher, Miss Blanc push him down the stairs.

* * *

He awoke to a cracking pain on his head and a very sore body. It took him longer than it would have normally done to work out where he was. He was at school in the doctor's office. The view outside the window was completely black and the sun had been out the last time he had been awake.

"Are you awake?" asked a voice that was certainly not the school doctor's as he was male and this voice was feminine and familiar.

"Aunt Ann?" he murmured.

His aunt's red hair came into view and that was when his mind caught up with everything. He had been pushed down the stairs just as he had nearly escaped. He needed to get out right now.

"It is me," she confirmed. "I've stitched up your head the best I can and there's a splint on one of your wrists."

"You're not the school doctor," Ciel said, attempting to sound as normal as possible and not like he was desperate to escape.

"I have a medical degree," she pouted.

Ciel decided to lightly test the waters. "I suppose you are right. Now that you have done a wonderful job of treating me, may I go home? Mum and Dad must be very worried."

She smiled widely. "Of course. I just need to get something and then I will get you home."

She turned away and Ciel took advantage of the opportunity to check his pockets. His phone and the tablets were gone. He must have been searched whilst he was unconscious. He was going to have to proceed very carefully now.

"Your head really hurts doesn't it?" she asked suddenly.

"Well, yes," he admitted. He had been pushed down the stairs after all. He was surprised he was still alive.

She waved a bottle of morphine tablets at him. "I want you to take once, you are most certainly going to need it tonight."

She handed him one with a glass of water whilst Ciel checked it was definitely morphine. He reluctantly took one to placate her and because the pain was getting unbearable.

"There's just one more thing that you are going to have to do before I can take you home."

Ciel stiffened. He wasn't out of the woods yet. He was going to have to take care in how he answered,

"What is it?" he tried to sound innocent and unaware of the gravity of the situation.

"We have to see the headmaster now. You need to tell him that you will promise not to tell anyone about what you saw. Do you think you can do that?"

Naturally he wasn't planning on keeping his mouth shut, but lying where necessary was part of the Phantomhive code so he agreed to it. His aunt put on his shoes for him and helped him off the bed. He limped down the hallway holding her arm to the headmaster's office.

No pupil had met the headmaster yet so of course there were lots of stories about what he looked like passing about. When Ciel was forced to sit down on the chair opposite the headmaster, he knew all of them were wrong.

Opposite him was an old man with long flowing grey hair with a solitary plait and a very long fringe covering his eyes. Hair aside, he looked average until he smiled. Ciel scented danger when he saw that smile. Something caught his eye behind the headmaster. Why were there coffins behind his desk and why were there bones on everything?

"Hello little Earl, I am Undertaker."

"Undertaker?"

"Yes, that really is my name. I decorated my office to match. Do you like it?"

Undertaker's voice belonged in a horror film and Ciel began to suspect that he was never going to leave the office alive. His heartbeat began to get uncomfortably fast and his palms were very slick with panicked sweat.

"It is certainly very unique," he answered cautiously.

Undertaker beamed at him. "You have very good taste, little Earl. Now onto what you are here for. Do you promise to stay quiet about what you saw today in the clubhouse."

Undertaker leaned forward over his desk and his breath wafted over Ciel causing his hairs to stand on end. He could also sense his aunt breathing down his neck.

"I promise."

The headmaster grinned in satisfaction.

"I see. The sad thing is that I know how clever you are and the only way to stop you is to end your life."

Ciel tried to get up and run but was forced back down by his aunt. Undertaker continued talking.

"It will be sad to see you go, however a dead body is so much easier to hide than a live one."

Ciel tried to wriggle out of his aunt's grip and opened his mouth to shout for help even though he knew there was no one around to help him. When he did something was forced into his mouth by his aunt and down his throat. He choked from its forced entry and then from the effects. There was no pain. His body shook uncontrollably and his heart rate spiralled out of control.

The last thing he ever saw was Undertaker's face leering down at him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 14:**

 **One week before:**

"Where are we going?" Sebastian asked as he was pulled along by Elizabeth.

She was surprisingly strong enough to drag him down the street.

"Stop protesting and follow her," Ciel ordered. "She clearly knows something she doesn't want to tell you in public."

"We are going to my apartment so we can talk in private. It's about the murder, it's not a love confession if that is what you are worried about," she said.

"Not at all," he said and looked around to see if anyone was watching.

There were a few groups of people around that didn't look bothered by the sight of a blonde girl dragging a much taller boy along the pavement. A few paces behind them in the road was a very slow moving car. A red car that Sebastian was sure he had seen in the staff car park of Weston International School.

"We're being followed by a red car," he told her.

Her grip tightened when he said 'red' and he wasn't sure why.

"Let's get a taxi," she said. "From a very public place."

They reached her apartment with no red car in tow. The taxi had managed to lose their pursuer which Sebastian was very thankful for. He didn't want to have an 'accident' like William just before they solved the mystery.

Elizabeth switched on the lights and bolted the door before disappearing into another room. She reappeared five minutes later with a very old looking photo album.

"You got it wrong. Ciel's second hint doesn't lead to Angela Blanc, it was supposed to lead you to Angelina Burnett. She seems to be using her maiden name of Durless now."

Sebastian exchanged a surprised look with Ciel. When Mey-Rin had told them about Angelina Durless the school doctor being the final member of the Weston Six he had been surprised, but ultimately he hadn't thought she was the murderer. It explained why Ciel was too afraid to go in her office. He should have realised the significance before.

"How do you know?"

She held up the photo album.

"She is my aunt and she is Ciel's too. She is Rachel Phantomhive's sister."

Sebastian was beginning to put things together now. The fact that she was closely related explained the reluctance of Ciel's parents to do anything. A sister was certainly capable of emotional blackmail. He cast a glance at Ciel who still looked shocked at the revelation that his aunt had killed him.

"I haven't seen her for years and I had no idea she was in Japan."

She rifled through the pages until she found what she was looking for. She handed it to Sebastian. It was a photo of what looked like a christening. Sebastian had no trouble recognising a very young Ciel and his parents. On the left side of Rachel Phantomhive was a younger looking Angelina Durless dressed head to toe in red. Sebastian realised that the 'R' in the diary stood for 'Red'.

"I do not know the full story about her, all I know is rumours and a few facts. The relationship between the sisters was very awkward," Elizabeth explained. "Apparently they both liked Vincent Phantomhive."

A love triangle between siblings was sure to be awkward. It might provide another motive for her to kill Ciel if she hated his mother for getting to marry Vincent Phantomhive.

"Rachel was the one he married of course and they had Ciel. Aunt Ann married someone soon after that. A few years later she broke off family contact completely. She must have come out to Japan and worked for Tatra Chemicals- she was a doctor in England and occasionally did research for GlaxoSmithKline."

It all added up now. Sebastian had one question though. He asked it for Ciel. Finding out as a ghost that your aunt had killed you was a terrible feeling, but he may have not known that she was his aunt when it actually happened. He wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

"Would Ciel have recognised her? He only knew her when he was very young."

Lizzie was silent for a minute before she answered. "It's likely. She did play with us a lot- it's how I remember her well and she has a very distinctive appearance- she wears a lot of red. If she taught him when he was alive he would probably recognise her name. That red car earlier has to be hers."

Sebastian began to feel that something was not right.

"Would she really kill her nephew if he found out her secret?"

Certainly she had been unsuitable for a school doctor, but he hadn't sensed that she was capable of murdering a 16 year old boy that was related to her in cold blood.

"Sebastian, you have no idea exactly what happened six years ago. What happened was that Ciel died and it was covered up," Lizzie, the more level headed one told him. "The only way to find out is from her. If she has a conscience, she will tell you."

* * *

That was why he was standing in front of the person who he was sure killed Ciel. She looked completely unfazed by the accusation. She put down the tray of bandages she was carrying and sat down. There were still lilies on the windowsill and all of the beds had the curtains drawn around them. Sebastian had a feeling that something or someone could be hiding there.

"What makes you think it was me?" she asked.

Sebastian experienced a mental stumble when she asked that. He could mention that he knew she was the one that blackmailed that Phantomhives to stay quiet, however that simply proved she was involved, it did not mean she was the perpetrator. On the other hand he couldn't say that Ciel had come back as a ghost who had a fear of the doctor's office.

"It's just an idea."

She grimaced. "I suppose Lizzie told you about the familial connection."

"She did. You are the only member of the Weston Six with a direct connection to Ciel and his parents who you could persuade to keep quiet."

Angelina sighed. "I never thought I would be able to manage that. I know they are still close by because they want me to weaken and give up the location of Ciel's body."

It hadn't escaped Sebastian's notice that she had yet to admit to the actual murdering of Ciel. He would have to approach the subject differently. Ciel who was standing beside him was completely silent. Obviously he had no suggestions at the moment.

"Do you think that will ever happen?" he probed gently.

"N-No," she hesitated. "Definitely not. It's that only thing that's keeping them quiet. I don't want to end up rotting away in prison."

The expression on her face told Sebastian that she felt the opposite way. That was what suggested the idea what they were being overheard. There would be no reason for her to lie if it was just them in the room. It was unfortunate there was someone else there because he knew that Angelina was never going to slip up and confess if there was someone watching her back.

"Would you answer differently if we were alone?" he whispered.

She froze and then shook her head. Sebastian had guessed she wouldn't break as easily as that.

"What happened on the day that your nephew died?" he tried another tack.

Her answer would be very useful, mainly because he didn't actually know. Ciel had no memories of how he had died. All he could guess was that Ciel had found the lab and had been caught out.

"Six years ago I was in the teacher's office marking tests. I had just about finished when Angela Blanc came running in and told me that I needed to see something so we went across to the clubhouse. At the foot of the stairs was Ciel with a bleeding head and a broken wrist. The bitch had found the poster in the mystery club room had been moved and traces that someone had gone up to the lab. The only person she found in the building was Ciel so she knocked him unconscious by pushing him down the stairs. The bitch was annoyingly proud of that."

Sebastian appreciated the acknowledgment that Angela Blanc liked pushing people down the stairs and winced at the description of Ciel's injuries. His final day of living had not being a good one.

"He was still alive then so what happened after?"

"After I did a temporary patch up on his head and wrist, we carried him across to the doctor's office. The school doctor had gone home by that point. Whilst I was doing his stitches, Angela searched his pockets and went off gleefully with his phone and the pills he had picked up."

It had indeed been Ciel that had left behind the empty packet of pills.

"Out of interest, why after killing people did this place become a school?"

Angelina scowled deeply. " _Someone_ thought the idea of us teaching children hilarious so that person went to the trouble to convert this building to a school just for amusement."

That person had to be the headmaster. He was the only person with enough power to keep all of them there. The idea of him making it a school for amusement fitted well with what Sebastian knew about him.

"Is that someone the headmaster?"

She nodded fractionally and continued on as if he hadn't asked.

"Soon after that, someone came by to tell me that Ciel's punishment had been decided. I was given the means to do it and told where to take him."

That explanation told Sebastian a lot of things. The most important thing was that she hadn't killed him willingly- it had been an order from someone else. It had to be the headmaster. It was no wonder that Ciel was too scared to go in his office.

He had been murdered there.

"Is the person that told you to kill your nephew Mr. Under Taker?"

She nodded and pointed towards the closed off bed in the middle. Sebastian had a feeling he knew exactly who was concealed there.

"He wants to see you."

Tentatively Sebastian pulled back the curtain surrounding the bed. A cursory glance suggested no one was there. No sooner had he thought that did someone push the covers aside and sit up.

"Hello, Sebastian," the old man said and leered at him.

Anyone else would have screamed at the sight of a leering old man with half his face covered by hair. Sebastian felt a brief feeling of surprise and panic but he managed to recover in a few seconds.

"Hello. Are you Mr. Under Taker? It's very nice to meet you."

"It's wonderful to meet you too. You've been a very clever boy. No one ever thought you would get this far."

"Do I get a reward?" Sebastian enquired.

Undertaker reached out and grabbed the top hat that was at the foot of the bed. He jammed it low on his head and got out of bed.

"Actually yes. I am willing to offer you a deal. It is very generous."

Considering how strange Undertaker was Sebastian could not guess what it could be. Someone like Undertaker wouldn't go for anything obvious.

"What is it?"

"We will let you go unharmed and tell the Police everything. We will all confess too if you do something."

That sounded like it would be the perfect agreement if the price he had to pay wasn't high.

"I don't think you will manage it and Undertaker is just offering it because he wants a laugh," Angelina interjected.

"What do I have to do?"

Undertaker grinned sadistically at him. "Ciel Phantomhive's body is hidden somewhere on school property. If you can find it within two hours- we will give up. If you can't, you will suffer the same fate as him."

* * *

 **A/N: There have actually been sufficient hints slipped in here and there about where Ciel is buried. It's like there were lots of hints about the murderer being both Angelina and Undertaker.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 15:**

That was not what Sebastian had ever expected to hear. He had spent the past month trying to find out what happened to Ciel which he had thought might lead to finding his corpse. If he hadn't managed to find a clue within a month, how was he supposed to find his body within two hours?

Ciel's aunt was right. Undertaker knew he couldn't succeed and was only doing it for amusement.

"What happens if I refuse?" he had to find out before it was too late.

Undertaker burst into sadistic laughter. "You won't leave here alive. There's Ash and Angela outside the door and the two of us in here. The only way to get out of this room alive is to agree to the deal."

Sebastian considered it briefly. The odds were not in his favour and they were never intended to be with that sort of deal. He had a 10% chance of succeeding. He looked at Ciel hopefully, perhaps hearing his aunt's recital of what happened six years ago had triggered his memories to come back.

From the confident look in Ciel's eyes and his altered posture, he knew he had his memories back.

"Sebastian, agree to it. It will delay things for two hours- that gives us time to think something," Ciel instructed and placed his hand in Sebastian's.

Sebastian agreed with him. It was the best thing for it.

"I will try my best to find Ciel's body within the time limit."

Undertaker pulled out a pocket watch from his waistcoat.

"Oh really? Well in any case, your two hours starts now. I have asked security to patrol the walls in case you try to escape."

Angelina held the door open for him and he sprinted past Ash and Angela and down the stairs. He stopped at a bench outside the building. He needed to think about everything logically. Ciel came to a stop behind him.

"Do you remember everything now?" Sebastian asked. "Somehow you look different."

"I do remember everything," Ciel confirmed. "Aunt Ann forced one of those prototype pills down my throat. It didn't hurt at all though- she gave me morphine earlier on. It was strangely merciful of her."

Sebastian recalled the lilies in her office. Perhaps they were in remembrance of Ciel.

"She does appear to have conflicted feelings about it," he said.

"Perhaps. But she still killed me. That fact does not change."

Sebastian stared at him with an idea in mind.

"Would you be able to sense where your body is hidden?"

Ciel shook his head ruefully. "I can't remember anything that happened between after I died and when I eventually came back as a ghost. The last thing I ever saw was that creepy old fart's face."

Sebastian shuddered at the thought.

"That will be the last thing I ever see too if we don't find anything. We have 125 minutes left."

Ciel sat down beside him.

"Before you start running around like headless chicken, we need to consider it methodically. There are several ways to dispose of bodies and all of them produce different results. They could have degraded in the well with acid like they did with the previous victims, they could have burned it to ashes or they could have buried it. Only one is likely."

For a moment Sebastian was distracted by the reference to the well and what it had been used for and then he realised the significance.

"Undertaker said 'body'. He wouldn't have used that term if you were ashes or that skull."

"Aunt Ann also used my dead body as leverage to silence my parents so it would have to be intact. Naturally it would have degraded by now. It has to be somewhere reachable as well because they need to have it on hand for manipulation."

Sebastian understood. If the newer building were under construction at the time they could have buried him in the foundations and never been caught for it, but that meant they would never be able to retrieve it in case they needed it.

He unfolded the map of the school which he still had in his pocket and crossed off all of the buildings. Ciel's body was unlikely to be hidden anywhere in the school house. That still left a lot of places where he could be hidden. He couldn't dig everywhere up even if he had a whole day.

If Angelina Durless was genuinely fond of her nephew as the lilies and the morphine suggested, she might have had the decency to bury him somewhere respectful. That would be somewhere quiet so he crossed off all of the sports field and the field where students went at lunchtime. Crossing those areas out revealed more likely locations. He considered the trees hiding the old school building. It would be difficult to bury a body there due to the tree roots. He almost crossed it off when something made him stop. The timeline was bothering him.

William had said the old school building had closed down and then the trees were planted in front of it. How could make that sense if that location was connected to the Seven Mysteries which the mystery club had been investigating before Ciel had been murdered?

Unless there weren't seven until Ciel's death.

He found the minutes of the meeting in his pocket and reread the title. He should have seen it before. It said 'Mysteries of the school'. If there were seven, it would have been 'Seven Mysteries'. He turned to a member of the mystery club from 2010.

"Six years ago, how many mysteries were there?"

Ciel looked thoughtful and then it looked like he had remembered something significant.

"Of course. There were only six. The blood sucking cherry blossom tree wasn't one because there weren't any cherry blossoms around."

They looked at each other and Ciel was the one to break it and look away.

"My body must be buried underneath the cherry blossom tree. It fits exactly."

"Planting the trees had a dual purpose. It concealed your body and the old building."

Sebastian stood up and was ready to go back to see Undertaker when he realised it was too easy.

"Undertaker said to find your body and not just the location. That means..."

Ciel finished his sentence. "You will have to dig it up. That could exceed that time was have left. We also have to find something to dig with first."

Sebastian checked his watch and made a decision.

"You can find the tree and shout for me when you hear me coming. I'm going to Tanaka."

Whilst a caretaker was not the same thing as a gardener he should still have something around for digging or know where the tools were kept. Tanaka was in the middle of drinking green tea when Sebastian burst in.

"Do you have a shovel?" Sebastian demanded. "It's urgent."

Wordlessly Tanaka walked to the other room and returned with a large shovel. He handed it to him and Sebastian went running off to the trees, failing to notice that Tanaka was following him from a distance.

He rejoined Ciel and looked up at the cherry blossom tree. Even if it had a dead body buried beneath it, a cherry blossom in full bloom was a sight to behold.

"Did you know that the blossoms are really white, they are only pale crimson because they drank the blood from the corpse underneath the tree? Or that's what the legend says" Ciel said and shuddered. "It feel strange to know that I am technically here and under there."

Sebastian slammed the shovel down into the earth. "Soon you will be in the same place."

It would have taken an average person two hours to dig deep enough, it took Sebastian half an hour. Ciel climbed up the tree and watched him whilst sitting on a branch. After 30 minutes of digging the shovel hit something and he bent down to see better. He had hit Ciel's real skull. He felt a shiver go down his spine at the sight. There was quite a difference between ghost Ciel and the real one.

Ciel who had jumped down from the tree stiffened suddenly. "There is someone coming."

Light footsteps became apparent and Ciel's aunt walked into view. Her face looked arctically pale.

"I cannot believe you actually found him," she gasped and looked like she was going to faint.

"Of course. Where would I be if I couldn't solve a mystery?" Sebastian smirked and tried not to sound like he was bragging. "Will you give up now and surrender? It was a promise and I have fulfilled my half."

Her eyes flashed dangerously at him and he had a feeling there had never been an intention to keep the agreement if he had succeeded.

"I will never surrender!"

She fumbled in her coat pocket and brought out a knife. Sebastian straightened up hastily and was ready to tackle her when they were joined by someone else who had noiseless footsteps. It was the last person he had expected, or it was technically someone he should have considered before.

Tanaka twisted her arm around and took the knife away from her whilst keeping hold her of with his other hand.

"Sebastian, you can stop now. You have done more than enough for the young master."

Everything clicked into place with that. His gut feeling had been right along, Tanaka really was more of a butler than a caretaker. To be more precise, he was the Phantomhive family butler. Vincent Phantomhive hadn't given up after all. He had sent Tanaka in his stead. Tanaka had an illicit copy of the old building key because he had been searching for Ciel's body.

"Tanaka!?" Angelina screamed. "Did Vincent send you?"

Tanaka's expression was the sternest Sebastian had ever seen it

"Miss Durless, give up know. You cannot escape it, the guilt will only get worse. Let them take his body back. It does not belong under that tree."

* * *

Everything was a blur after that. There were Police officers all over the school grounds who were mostly gathered around the well. Undertaker and the Weston Six were taken away handcuffed and pushed into Police cars. Sebastian watched from his position on the grassy bank on the school field. Ciel stood next to him watching all the events unfold.

Then Ciel looked behind him and gasped. Sebastian turned to see Tanaka walking towards him with Ciel's parents in tow. It was the first time he saw Ciel look like he was going to cry.

Vincent Phantomhive was the first one to speak.

"Thank you for finding Ciel's body."

Sebastian was unsure of what he could say to that. He had been the one who had made the most effort to find his body. Vincent had even held more cards than him so he should have found it first. He had known who his son's murderer was from the start and had someone working for him on the premises.

"I found it because I was looking for it."

Vincent looked like he understood his meaning exactly.

"My hands were tied. I wanted to uncover everything even at the risk of the family name just to obtain justice for him. My wife wanted his body to bury more than that so I had to play it differently."

His limited actions were more understandable now, but Sebastian still couldn't agree.

"We found that the caretaker was an old man named Tanaka so I saw an opportunity there. We paid him off and Tanaka replaced him as if there had never been a change."

One of the remaining puzzles was solved now. Finny's description of Tanaka had been completely different to the one Sebastian knew, because he was describing the one Tanaka had taken the place of.

"When I encountered you, I decided to drop the act and give you a few hints to help you," Tanaka explained. "I also placed the skull in the well to keep you going and to hint what the well had been used for."

It was something he had not considered before. For criminals that covered their tracks well, leaving a skull behind in the well was quite an oversight.

"Tanaka took some samples of the water from the well and we worked out what it had been in it. It wasn't decisive enough evidence so he continued to observe the Weston Six and wait for Angelina to weaken," Vincent explained.

Everything had been explained now. There were no mysteries left to solve now.

"Is it all over now?" he asked.

Tanaka nodded. "It's finished. We can take the young master's body back home and see that his murderers are punished."

* * *

 **A/N: Anyone who guessed the cherry blossom tree was right, however no one noticed inconsistencies in time and naming of the mysteries. (In Chapter 13, Ciel doesn't call the mysteries the Seven Mysteries)**

The next chapter will be the final one.


	16. Chapter 16

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 16:**

The funeral was held in England due to Ciel Phantomhive's nationality and the fact all other members of his family were buried there. The Phantomhives paid for all the mystery club members to fly there as well so they could attend it too.

When Sebastian had wished he could be back in London again when he had first arrived in Tokyo, he hadn't wanted to return for a funeral. He hadn't wanted it to be a funeral for a person he was genuinely fond of. He dreaded the funeral because it meant Ciel was going to leave.

The weather was average on the day of the funeral. That meant it was mildly cool with weak sunlight. Sebastian half wanted it to rain so he could hide his face under an umbrella.

"Does it feel strange to attend your own funeral?" he asked Ciel once the church service had finished.

"It does. I feel guilty for the pain I have caused my family for poking my nose into something I couldn't handle," Ciel answered very honestly.

He watched Ciel's coffin being lowered whilst standing next to his ghost and another person he didn't know. He was regretful when the coffin was covered by earth because it meant Ciel wasn't going to stay now.

"Come with me," Ciel instructed and Sebastian knew the time had come.

He was led to a deserted corner of the cemetery where thankfully there were no trees around. Unsurprisingly enough Sebastian had had enough of trees.

"Firstly, I would to thank you for solving the mystery and finding my body. Without you, I would be stuck at that school forever."

Without Ciel he would be stuck at sixth form without anything interesting to do.

"I am very glad that you managed to tolerate my battiness," Ciel continued. "It can't have been easy."

"You improved over time."

Ciel grinned brightly at him and seemed to stumble over what he was going to say next. Sebastian knew what it was just from that.

"... I can't stay here forever. Everything has been resolved. I have been given a proper burial, my parents know the truth, and the Weston Six and Undertaker are facing hefty prison sentences. There is nothing left here for me."

Deep down Sebastian knew Ciel was perfectly right. He had done what he had wanted. He made an attempt to persuade him.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for me?"

The look on Ciel's face was a conflicted one.

"I'm dead," Ciel stated plainly. "You are alive."

Hearing that caused Sebastian to finally accept it. He would grow old, Ciel would forever be 16. It would be a strange relationship considering that no one else could see him.

"If you were alive, would you like me?" Sebastian asked flirtingly.

"Perhaps," Ciel winked and Sebastian smiled in spite of himself.

"Of course my wonderfulness would win you over."

Ciel laughed before turning serious. "Before I go, may I ask one request one more favour from you?"

Sebastian sighed dramatically. "All I have ever done for you is endanger myself, follow your orders, put up with you and find your body."

"So you won't do it?"

Sebastian's interest was piqued. "What is it?"

As Ciel leaned forward to whisper in his ear Sebastian noticed that his already translucent body was fading. When he heard what Ciel wanted him to do he wasn't unduly surprised.

"If I must," he sighed. "Are you leaving now?"

"I am. I have been staying here on borrowed time."

Sebastian watched Ciel's body fade into nothing and he stood there staring at where Ciel had been standing. He was going to miss him. It felt strange to remember how much he wanted Ciel to stay away from him.

"Good bye, Ciel."

* * *

He spotted Elizabeth and an unfamiliar blond man approaching him. It was fortunate they hadn't found him earlier and interrupted his final time with Ciel.

"Thank you for everything," she said and bowed her head.

"It was hard, but I managed it," Sebastian answered and turned his gaze to the man next her.

"Sebastian, this is Alois Trancy. He was Ciel's friend at that school in Japan."

Alois nodded at him and Sebastian returned it with an additional glare. Ciel's friend must have known enough to work out who had killed him and had done nothing. Alois seemed to guess his thoughts exactly.

"We were all threatened to keep quiet and we didn't exactly know what happened to him so we weren't sure what to do," Alois explained. "When he never reappeared, we worked out he was dead and made the collective decision to leave hints behind that proved he existed.

Sebastian remembered how terrifying Undertaker looked and understood why that had done what they had been told. He wouldn't have done it himself though.

"We got the yearbook printed with Ciel's name and photo. That went to pot a year later when bloody Miss Blanc suddenly ran in and tore the pages out. We concealed more subtle things after that. We even sneaked into the old clubroom to leave something behind."

The small clues that had spurred him on in the beginning had come from the mystery club after all and weren't accidents like he had assumed.

"They were useful," he replied. Without him he wouldn't have had the stepping stones to the rest of mystery.

Alois smiled faintly. "I am very happy that someone found him and did what we couldn't.

The conversation turned onto different subjects after that until the two were called away by someone else and Sebastian was left alone again. This time it wasn't for long.

Finny came bounding over to him followed by the other two. Finny had swapped his red hairpins for black and Bardroy had actually shaved for the occasion.

"Guess what? I just got a text from Will. He wants to rejoin and he even said please!" Finny exclaimed excitedly.

"Do you still want to be a member?" Bardroy asked him awkwardly. "I've become sure you only wanted to find out about the Seven Mysteries."

That was right. He had only joined for Ciel and not for his own amusement. Most of his investigative actions had been prompts from Ciel and weren't his own work. Then he remembered Ciel's unexpected compliments about his intelligence and the satisfaction he felt when he put everything together at the end.

"I may still want to be a member."

He found himself being deluged by them throwing their arms around him and bawling. He stiffened momentarily and was ready to push them off when he decided he would let them do what they wanted for a moment.

He looked over at where he had last seen Ciel and smiled. He would carry on with mystery solving in his memory.

"Good bye, Ciel."

 **The End**

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone that left reviews and favourited this fanfiction. I suspected it would not be very popular due to the focus on mystery solving rather than romance so I am glad that a few people did like it especially as this is my final Kuroshitsuji fanfiction.**

 **I would like to credit Kindaichi Case Files as inspiration for some aspects of the plot. I would also recommend that manga to anyone that likes mystery manga.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Memories of Murder:**

 **Chapter 17:**

It was almost Christmastime in Japan. Sebastian found the differences in the way different countries celebrated it fascinating. He was still attending school although it was only a few days before Christmas.

His mother had mentioned at breakfast that she was going to buy a Christmas tree in the morning and he arrived home to find her unpacking boxes of decorations standing next to very tall tree in the corner of the living room.

"Haven't you left it too late?" he asked and picked up one of the boxes to find that it was full of glass baubles.

"When I was young it went up on Christmas Eve," she protested. "This is early."

Sebastian eyed the stack of boxes. She had gone overboard like usual with buying decorations. They never brought any decorations with them so every time it was Christmas in a different country, she always bought more.

"I will leave you to it," he said hastily in case she roped him into helping out with the decorating.

He was too late. She glared at him and he turned back.

"I'm not tall enough to reach the top of the tree so I need your help," she said and passed him some silver tinsel. "Get on with it."

Sebastian sighed and started winding it around the tree. He was going to be there for at least an hour.

"What do you want for Christmas?" she asked suddenly. "I've been trying to find you a present for ages. All you seem to like is cats and there are so many cat themed items you can get without it being obsessive."

"I don't know," Sebastian said as he picked up a delicate glass bauble. "I don't really need anything."

What his mother said next was the most unexpected thing she had ever said.

"I suppose your best present would be a visit from Ciel Phantomhive. I did find him adorable when he stayed here."

The glass bauble he had been holding slipped through his fingers and all he could do was stare at his mother in shock.

He should have been the only one that was able to see Ciel. She had never said a thing whilst Ciel had stayed in the flat for that fortnight before the funeral.

His mother smiled sadly.

"You never thought to question how you could see him? I could see him as well. I didn't think he was a threat to you and I knew you liked him so I never said anything."

Strangely enough Sebastian had lots of questions for his mother and a part of him was also embarrassed. She had known that he as keeping a ghost in his room and had known that Ciel had been joining them at mealtimes. She had also noticed that he had liked Ciel.

"Is it a family trait?" was his first question. It was the safest question.

"My mother could see ghosts too. It does appear to be a family trait."

That was a lot to take in for Sebastian.

"Why did you never say that you could see him?"

She looked amused. "How does a mother tell her teenage son that she knows he is keeping a ghost of a teenage boy in his room and getting him to help him with homework and keep him company at the dinner table?"

Sebastian was silent. Now that she had phrased it like that he was glad that she had only just mentioned it. It would have been mortifying and would have hindered the case as well.

"You did a good job helping him to pass on," she said gently. "It didn't sound like it was easy to find his murderer."

"Ciel did a lot of the work," he admitted. "The mystery club think that I am some sort of mystery solving genius."

She picked up the glass bauble that he had dropped and returned it to him. Fortunately he hadn't broken it.

"I think you underestimate your abilities. Ciel told me that he thought you were good."

The glass bauble smashed this time.

"Mum! When did you speak to him? He never mentioned a thing."

"When you were asleep," she said plainly. "He promised to not tell you that he was talking to me. This was after you had found his body and before the funeral. I haven't seen him since."

Sebastian sighed. "Is there anything else I should know regarding Ciel?"

* * *

The next day at school he was roped into decorating their club room. In reward for uncovering the corrupted history of the school, the new head teacher had designated them a club room so they didn't have to use a regular classroom.

He stayed away from decorating the tree and instead strung up the fairy lights and tinsel on the walls.

"Sebastian, that piece of tinsel is positioned 5cm lower than the rest," Will observed critically.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and adjusted the tinsel. His relationship with Will hadn't changed that much after coming back from the funeral, but he was slightly less critical of his mystery solving abilities.

Mey-Rin handed him another piece of tinsel and directed him to place it around the window frame. She had made herself in charge of decorating.

"Bardroy!" she screamed suddenly. "Don't do that to the lights! It's a fire hazard!"

The idiot trio had not changed much either. He was friendly with them now, but sometimes he wondered how Bardroy had never burned down the school.

They were intending to have a Christmas party today and had brought a variety of refreshments. Finny had attempted to make mince pieces, but had squashed them in the process. William had provided tea, Sebastian had made a Christmas cake and Mey-Rin had brought Christmas crackers. Bardroy had mentioned cooking a turkey which had made everyone nervous so he had brought candles with him instead.

Finny burst in excitedly. "I brought Christmas snacks from the convenience store around the corner. Some of them are a bit strange though."

"You can get Christmas toilet bleach in England," William pointed out. "Nothing can be stranger than that."

They all joined Finny around the table to have a look. Sebastian felt that he had seen stranger and made a cup of tea instead whilst the other decided what to have. Ironically the strangest thing was the tea that he was tea he was drinking. He looked at the tin to find out what tea Will had actually brought with him and found that it was proclaiming to be Christmas flavoured.

Once the decorating was finished they all sat around the table and passed out the Christmas crackers. Bardroy looked mystified until they explained the tradition to him.

"Shall we have Will's Christmas tea and Sebastian's cake?" Mey-Rin suggested.

"It is going to have to be an improvement on the joke in my cracker no matter how bad it is," Will answered snidely, the insult having less effect due to the paper crown on his head.

Sebastian was in the act of serving tea when Finny asked a surprising question.

"Sebastian, can you see ghosts?"

If his mother hadn't asked him the same question the day before he would have probably dropped the teacup. Instead he calmly continued serving tea.

"What makes you ask that?"

He checked to see if Will was working his way to an insult about Finny's intelligence and was surprised to see that he wasn't. He looked amused instead.

"Before you became a member of the club, the idiots here stalked you for a bit and noticed that you acted strangely at times like you were seeing someone invisible," Will explained. "I am going to guess that the ghost in question was Ciel Phantomhive. Your motivations in solving the case make more sense if you were seeing his ghost."

William was annoying, but he was also intelligent. He was never going to be able to deny it with that evidence against him.

"I remembered that you asked me if I could see someone on your first day and everything all started to come together," Finny added.

"It's fine to admit it, we aren't going to outcast you and tell the whole school," Mey-Rin reassured him.

"We think it's pretty cool," Bardroy said.

Sebastian thought back to his previous schools. He had never made any friends because he had always known that he was never going to be there very long. He also hadn't wanted friends either. He had never felt like he could trust anyone.

He thought about the other members of the mystery club and how they had helped out with solving the Seven Mysteries case and how supportive they had been after the funeral although they hadn't known the significance of burying Ciel.

"I was able to see Ciel Phantomhive's ghost. He was present at all of the meetings we had and the visits to the old school building," he admitted.

"Everything makes sense now," Will said. "Thank you for being truthful with us."

That was the second most kindest thing Will had ever done for him. The first being giving him some of the information he had needed to solve the case.

"We got you a Christmas present," Finny informed him. "It's a thank you for everything you have done for the club so far. Without you we would have never got this club room."

He produced neatly wrapped present from under the table and handed it to him. It was a small and flat present and Sebastian used his powers of deduction to work out that it was a book.

He unwrapped it to find that he was right about it being a book. It was a book full of mysteries to solve. It made him think of Ciel. He would have loved a book like this.

"We were all reading it in the bookshop before we bought it and we got stuck on the one of page 362. We were wondering if you could solve it," Finny said.

Sebastian turned to the relevant page and read the scenario for the case and the list of clues and suspects. It was a case set in the Victorian era and involved a locked room murder. Initially he felt out of depth until he followed advice that Ciel had previously given him and came to a conclusion that he felt was right.

"The butler did it," he announced.

The four of them looked impressed with him and Sebastian allowed himself to feel that he really could solve mysteries without Ciel backing him up.

"We had to look at the answers to find out," Bardroy muttered darkly. "How did he get it in five minutes?"

Sebastian overheard him and gave an answer.

"Where would we be if I couldn't solve mysteries?"

 **The end**

* * *

 **A/N: I hope everyone has a good Christmas this year. This will be the last original content posted on this account.**


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